After reports surfaced that the Department of Justice intends to file an antitrust lawsuit to block the Comcast/Time Warner cable merger, Comcast is now in spin mode to save the merger. First item to drop is Comcast announcing speed increases for Internet subscribers in California and the launch of 2 Gigabit service for the San Francisco bay area.
This is the first piece to try and save the merger: to show the United States government that Comcast will continue to improve its’ infrastructure to meet the changing needs in the future. What wasn’t announced is the price (I’ll laugh and point at you if you think this will cost under $100/month and cite Google Fibre’ 1Gbit service costs $70) and I highly doubt this will launch in June as the press release states. I’m guess that Comcast will launch in one neighborhood but not an entire metropolitan city.
Why pick San Francisco: the reason is simple. Comcast will tell you they picked the bay area because its’ the innovation center of the country – if not, the world – and the area needs very fast Internet to suit the growing needs of start-ups in the area. The real reason is:
- Silicon Valley has a lot of rich people that will pay ~$200/month for ridiculously fast Internet
- Tech writers live in the region and they constantly complain how awful Comcast Internet service has been. By having ludicrous-speed Internet service, it should stop the tidal-wave of complaints they vent everyday. Except they can’t afford the service and will settle of overprice service for 75Mbps.
Comcast is now in defense mode with the hopes of saving the merger. Will it work is anyone’s guess.