It's Alright Ma....Bell, It's Only TV

Todd Chanko | March 06, 2006, 10:07 AM

AT&T, née SBC, is looking more like its former self. Today's announcement that it is targeting Bell South in a $67 billion acquisition could be making Brian Roberts, Comcast's chief, look over his shoulder with a bit more trepidation - in theory. Yes, the proposed merger would cover subscribers and services across 22 states and provide ATT with total control over Cingular Wireless' 52 million subscribers. However, while the larger footprint and RGUs – “revenue generating units” - provide a great base for delivering video services, there is one catch: deployment. Remember SBC's "Homezone?" Didn’t think so. It's been recently rechristened by ATT as a bundled service. Mounting any kind of reliable – and desirable - video service is harder than press releases make it seem to be.