Big cable V big telco

The big cable companies have taken the gloves off and have filed a FCC complaint against Verizon for alleged "retention marketing" breaches. Comcast, TimeWarner and a smaller cable company, Bright House Networks, allege Verizon has been trying to stop customers who ask to have their number ported to a cable digital voice service. In contravention of FCC rules that bans incumbents from trying to persuade customers not to swap carriers, Verizon allegedly offered inducements--"price incentives and gift cards"--to keep customers.

"While some customers rebuffed Verizon's inducements to stay while the port requests were pending, thousands of customers accepted Verizon's offers, after which Verizon canceled their orders for [cable digital voice]," the cable complaint states. The complaint follows two patent actions Verizon has launched against cable MSOs Cox and Charter alleging breach of VoIP patents.

Comcast has more than four million digital voice customers and is now the fourth-largest telco in the U.S. but, along with all cable companies, is battling Verizon's aggressive roll-out of its FiOS TV/Internet/telephone service and AT&T's U-verse triple play. Chicago's northwestern suburbs is the current front line for U-verse where AT&T is undertaking its largest-ever deployment.

A Verizon spokesperson is reported admitting Verizon does undertake retention marketing but that it is lawful. "This filing should be seen for what it is--another cable company effort to block consumer choice as competition heats up," Verizon spokesman David Fish told Multi-Channel News. "It's hard to believe that cable would attempt to block consumers from receiving information about additional services and lower prices."

Neither big cable nor big telco could ever be accused of being at the vanguard of competition.

For more:
- Operators File FCC Complaint Against Verizon Over VoIP Article

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Verizon sues Charter for VoIP patent Report
FCC opens up MSUs to Telcos Report