- In a wide range of discussions, Verizon (VZ -0.3%) chief Lowell McAdam makes the point that the company has moved on from cable tie-ups (to focus instead on fiber/5G) and that it will be able to keep up its dividend by managing costs.
- Rumors have linked Verizon to mergers with any number of media companies but also top telecoms like Comcast (CMCSA -0.7%) and Charter (CHTR -1.7%), but Verizon has "moved on," he says.
- One complicating factor may have been Comcast and Charter's deal to work together on an entry into wireless communications. But McAdam argued it would focus on fiber and 5G deployment rather than getting into bed with a company that had a huge coaxial network that would need to be reconfigured or replaced.
- As for AT&T (T -0.8%) and T-Mobile (TMUS -2%) offering HBO and Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) for free, McAdam isn't worried, saying Verizon could make a deal like that anytime and that consumers will care more about reliable networking than freebies: "At the end of the day, customers will buy based on their experience, doing what they need to do, not whether they have Netflix or not."
- The company will plan to cut $10B in costs by 2022 and largely pay its dividend with those savings, he's said.
- Yesterday, he said it's "critical" that the carrier unveil its own over-the-top TV service and that it had about six months to decide how to do it.
- Now read: AT&T: Cord-Cutting Trends, Customer-Service Follies, And What It All Means
Original article