DTV Switch to happen sooner than expected.

The Congress finally agreed to a delay in the mandatory switch over until June after much debate and heartache to the likes of Verizon, AT&T and Qualcomm. However, in yet another turn in events, more expected than unexpected, the broadcast stations have decided to switch over to pure digital transmission much sooner than the mandated date in June. 40% of the local broadcast stations i.e. 2 in out every 5 have expressed their intention to switch as soon as possible. The major factor in that decision is the ability to save on costs by not having to simultaneously broadcast in digital and analog format. Why would the local stations be so desperate to save on their operational expenditure? The answer to that question lies in the fact that most local/regional network have experienced a steep decline in their ad revenue and are forced to conserve costs. As a result, analog TV viewers will likely be left in the dark after all.

On a separate note, the concept of a unified residential gateway seems to be making its way back. gizomodo.com reports that AT&T has an STB-Femtocell combination box in the making.

Verizon delivers solid numbers & approves DTV delay

Verizon announced solid earnings this morning much to the relief of the analyst community. Wireless came in as the strongest segment as was expected. Wireless revenues for Q4-08 were $12.8B up 12.3% (YoY) compared to the wireline segment which contributed $11.9B to the top line down 2.7%(YoY). Verizon added ~1.2 million post paid wireless subs last quarter compared to ~2 million the quarter before. The only concerning factor was the slight increase in the churn rate which was recorded at 1.35% towards the end of 2008.

Verizon has taken definitive steps towards stemming their losses from land line losses. The recent launch of the 'Hub' is a sound strategy in adding on other broadband enabled services to vanilla VoIP service to present a better value proposition to consumers looking towards wireless substitution.

On a separate note, DTV conversion has been pushed out to June 12. While this makes sense from a consumer point of view, the investors in the spectrum will likely pay dearly in the form of lost quarters. Two quarters is precious time for companies such as Qualcomm and other wireless operators as they work towards stabilizing their new network builds.