So, it’s official. Comcast is going to make their second attempt at wireless according to their CEO Brian Roberts. So what does re-entering wireless mean for Comcast’s future? The way the industry is heading, they need to be a player in wireless to remain competitive. But do they know how to succeed? That’s the real question.
Comcast failed with their first effort to enter wireless a few short years ago. Now they are gearing up and getting ready for a second try in 2017. I have many questions. Like, does Comcast really understand what mistakes they made the first time? Do they really understand what went wrong? And do they really know what to do differently this next time in order to be successful?
Roberts says their wireless roll out will be an in-footprint strategy. Services offered will be as a bundled service or an add-on service to existing services like TV and internet. This sounds a lot like their first failed wireless attempt from a few years ago. I hope they have thought this through much further than that. If not they may be welcoming in the same result.
Does Comcast know how to succeed in wireless?
I hope Comcast is successful this time around in wireless. The wireless industry is healthy and expanding. However, that does not mean every carrier will be successful. After all, there are lots of competitors, but not all are successful. Think of all the handset makers, but the vast majority of market share – maybe 90% – is split up between the iPhone and Android devices.
When it comes to carriers, we see existing carriers like AT&T Mobility, Verizon Wireless, Sprint and T-Mobile US carving up the same roughly 90%. New entries like Google Project Fi have begun, but are not really doing strong business. In fact, if we pull the camera back, we can see other failures. Every cable television company that tried wireless like Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Cox have all failed. So has Facebook and even the Amazon.com Fire Phone.
Comcast success in wireless is not automatic
So, as you can see, success in wireless is a hard-fought battle. Only a few companies really understand how to be successful. The first time, Comcast was not successful. So what was the problem? One problem was they thought all they had to do was offer a phone with the Comcast brand and customers would beat a path to their door. They didn’t. The wireless industry is more complex than that.
If that’s the same path Comcast is taking this time they shouldn’t even try this time. Wireless is a key and core product and service for every customer. Comcast should know that customers don’t by wireless to watch mobile TV.
Rather it’s the other way around. Customers buy wireless and they use these devices to access their accounts to watch mobile TV and others. This is one of several areas where Comcast screwed up last time.
Where Comcast screwed up last time
Winning the wireless game is a completely separate service and other services must play in the wireless universe, not the other way around. If Comcast thinks customers will buy wireless from them, to get wireless TV or mobile TV, they will make the same mistake they made a few short years ago.
However, if Comcast can come up with a model like the way AT&T Mobility works with AT&T, or Verizon Wireless works with Verizon Communications, then they stand a chance to successfully compete. Or if they offer a standalone wireless service like Sprint and T-Mobile US that also offers connectivity to Xfinity, that may stand a chance to successfully compete.
So the real question is: did Comcast learn important lessons from the first failure? I sure hope so. We’ll just have to wait and see. Good luck Comcast.
