Verizon wants to send cable TV to wireless devices via 4G LTE

By Alex Tretbar August 14, 2014

espn sues verizon over fios custom tv plans xbox mobile interface — Image used with permission by copyright holder

In the near future, Verizon customers will be able to watch cable TV on their smartphone or tablet without having to rely on any kind of quirky, provider-specific “TV Everywhere” service.

Related: TV everywhere nears mainstream status

Verizon has revealed that it plans to deliver its FiOS pay-TV service to wireless devices via its 4G LTE network, according to the Radio & Television Business Report. A spokesman for the New-York based company, Jim Gerace, told the publication that Verizon’s wireless network is in the best position to be able to take on such a task.

Little to no details have emerged thus far, other than the simple fact that Verizon is confident in its abilities to deliver this potentially game-changing service. The company’s 4G LTE network is certainly already powerful enough to deliver high-quality video content to smartphones and tablets, but that’s not really the obstacle that Verizon should be concerned with. The undeniable elephant in the room is the maelstrom of bad press that has gradually built up around Verizon and the cable industry as whole.

Just this week, Verizon was honored by Netflix with the very last-ranking spot at the bottom of the streaming service’s ISP Speed Index for July. The telecommunications company also made a pretty sour PR move this week when it was revealed its plans to throttle the data speeds of customers subscribed to unlimited plans. Then the company proceeded to dig itself into an even bigger crater when, in a letter to the FCC, it claimed it throttles its customers’ data speeds simply because, well, everyone else does it.

Verizon may not be the only company looking to deliver cable-style television services over a wireless network. ATT’s $48.5 billion bid to acquire DirecTV could be seen as a sign that it has something similar in mind.

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Alex Tretbar, audio/video intern, is a writer, editor, musician, gamer and sci-fi nerd raised on EverQuest and Magic: The…

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