This site will focus on business aspects of technology used by service providers, enterprises and end users. The site will include changes in the communication marketplace (data, voice - wireline and wireless, video). The information presented here is based on my research and experience – dealing with customers and taking products/offers to market. Opinions on this blog are just mine and have no relevance to the current thinking of the company I work for.

Thursday, October 25, 2007

Quick comparison Verizon and Comcast business in Q3 2007

Per the Journal article dated Oct 24, 2007 http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119318239126769111.html?mod=loomia&loomia_si=1

It appears that Verizon has acquired 171,600 subscribers for their FiOS TV services calculated based on the numbers reported in the article - Verizon has been acquiring 2,600 subscribers per business day. Per my simple math, 30 days in a month less the Saturday and Sunday would have 22 working days. The number of subscribers acquired would be around 171,600 (22*2,600*3). The number of FiOS Internet (broadband) users acquired is approx. 500,000.

When compared to Comast – Comcast acquired 450,000 broadband users and 662,000 phone users. The number of TV users acquired is approx. 333,000. This was calculated per some guidance provided in the article on the Journal (
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119330126130871182.html?mod=telecommunications_primary_hs).


I learnt a new terminology from the Journal - Revenue-Generating Units or RGUs, are a key measure of health for cable companies. Each RGU represents a single new service, so a person who buys TV, Internet and telephone services from Comcast counts as three RGUs. 1,400,000 RGU = 450,000 + 662,000 – 65,000 + X (phone customers)

Calculate X = 333,000

The numbers are interesting – Comcast adding more phone customers that the TV service customers (think about core business). Hope that is not the case with Verizon. One would surely hope that the phone customers acquired by Verizon would be more than 662,000 number given the scale of Verizon and the depth of its offering (wireline and wireless). To compete Verizon has to move the number of TV service customer higher or may have to look to acquire Satellite TV operators to improve scale.

Anyone have any ideas on the real numbers?

No comments: