The cable giant Comcast may be entering the wireless service game after several reports in the past indicated that the company would be looking into a wireless strategy plan. This, of course, will come with the cable companies ability to use Verizon’s wireless network and likely a variety of Comcast owned wireless hotspots. If these reports are in fact true then it will be interesting to see just how well this service rolls out as previous cable companies found a struggle to get a wireless service up and running through the use of other wireless carriers in the past few years.
The news came from unnamed sources that made mention to Bloomberg of a new wireless plan in the works within Comcast. Because this service is not yet announced, the sources asked to remain anonymous but according to their reports, Comcast will be bringing out the service through Verizon’s wireless service thanks to the 2012 airwaves deal. Through that deal, Verizon was able to purchase a spectrum from a consortium that included Bright House Networks, Time Warner Cable, and Comcast. That deal didn’t just benefit Verizon as the cable companies listed were also granted the ability to resell Verizon’s cellular service.
This new service that Comcast will be rolling out will allow the company to take on the other major wireless carrier providers, but this won’t be the first time Comcast and other cable companies attempted to see a wireless service plan release within the market. In the past, Comcast had teamed up with Sprint to offer a wireless service known as Pivot but that didn’t last a full a year. Since more smartphones are being unlocked and compatible with Verizon’s network, this new service could actually survive compared to the previously attempted Pivot. Grant it this is speculation as neither Comcast nor Verizon has confirmed Comcast is, in fact, working on a wireless plan. Currently from what we know right now, Verizon Chief Financial Officer Fran Shammo told investors during an earnings call on Tuesday that select cable companies were interested in reselling their wireless service. While it’s likely that Comcast is one of those select cable companies, until we get the official word from Comcast we can’t be certain.