Telecomulonimbis and Crony Capitalism

Schumpeter begins amp8220One sign that monopolies are a problem in America is that the University of Chicago has just held a summit on the threat that they may pose to the worldamp8217s biggest economyamp160 Until recently convening a conference supporting antitrust concerns in the Windy City was like holding a symposium on sobriety in New Orleansamp8221As regular readers no doubt have noticed Iamp8217ve been predicting an accelerating trend in our connected media world of classic telecoms cable ops broadcasters and content companies devolving into a classically vertically integrated small oligarchical group Kind of like the airline industry amp8230 without dragging customers out of their homes thoughAs he Economist notes amp8220In regulated industries that donamp8217t face competition from imports health care airlines and telecommunications prices are at least 50 higher than in other rich countries and returns on capital are highamp8221amp160 The quotnewspaperquot as The Economist refers to itselfamp160also notes that American companies collectively spend 3 billion a year on lobbyingWhile the column doesnamp8217t directly come to the same conclusion as mine it does note the big five platform companies Alphabet Amazon Apple Facebook and Microsoft amp8220earned 93 billion last year and have high market shares for instance in search and advertisingamp8221amp160 I tend to call them amp8220edgeamp8221 because thatamp8217s where they sit without actually providing the connected part of the equation amp160Facebook for its part gained about oneamp160million new advertisers in just the past few monthsThatamp8217s just part of why the trend toward a vertically integrated oligarchic group is inevitable amp160Think of it this wayamp160 The model is Comcast with NBCUamp160 The copycat is ATampampT getting Time Warneramp160 Or maybe Apple plusamp160Disneyamp160Rumors always talk about Charter plusamp160Lionsgate or TMobile if it doesnamp8217t fold into Sprintamp160 Verizon goes digital for content instead of classic video Well AOL is classic I suppose amp160Alphabet already has YouTubeamp160 Amazon simply started its own studioamp160 Netflix spends more than HBO on new product amp160And everybody has OTT on the wayamp160 An aside is there a downside thereamp160 Will CBS All Access and the upcoming NBC and ABC OTT models work so well that retransmission consent becomes a way for pipeline companies to drop carriageamp160 Ah talk about ironies amp160But hereamp8217samp160the real question Is this the way to a la carte packages from network groupsAnd everything will be managed in the cloud that39s cloudification not telecomulonimbis as for example ATampampT wireless steams closer to virtualization by upgrading its systems to allow for downloaded instead of techinstalled upgradesGiven the inherent costs in bigger more and better pipes both in capacity and buildouts amp160more consolidation is inevitableamp160 Alphabet would be better off having Google buy ATampampT and Verizon than continuing to invest in its moribund Access mistake It39s hard to really build fiber infrastructure and make it pay seems only cable figured that outStay tuned amp160Change is accelerating amp160And just think the age of Trump will keep that going amp8230 until someday the pendulum swings again and regulations will return along with Rooseveltian trustbusting Teddythat isRandom NotesTVNewscheckamp8217s Harry Jessell reports some 957 TV stations will get government funds of 175 billion and some 39 months to vacate the spectrum they sold and amp8220repackamp8221amp160 That should be interestingamp160 Think NAB in overdrive with ATSC 30 in the mixamp160 The next questionsamp160 How many stations will simply cease to existamp160 How many will sell off towers offices mustcarry rights and other assetsThat spectrum auction raised almost 20 billion a little shy of the 80 billion projections with TMobile spending 8 billion while DISH pitched in 62 billion and Comcast trailed with only 17 billionamp160 What will they do with all of that repurposed spectrumMeanwhile its show time in Las Vegas as the National Association of Broadcasters convenes next week complete with helicopters on the show flooramp160 Once booked for the same dates or so in Washington DC the now defunct INTX simply gave up the ghostamp160 So the NAB show is including Altice USA chairmanCEO Dexter Goei for a keynote on April 25amp160 CTAM is in Vegas tooamp160 Times certainly are changingCable will still be in DC at the Grand Hyatt as the 20th anniversary 2017 Cable TV Hall of Fame inductees celebrate on April 26amp160 Great class this year with The Sopranos from HBO with David Chase accepting NBCUamp8217s Steve Burke Coxamp8217s Jill Campbell Liberty Globalamp8217s Mike Fries Scripps Networks Interactiveamp8217s Ken Lowe and Discoveryamp8217s David Zaslavamp160 This yearamp8217s Bresnan Ethics in Business Award winner is the muchdeserving CommScope Chairman Frank DrendelClick the 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Telecomulonimbis and Crony Capitalism

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Paul S. Maxwell

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