Your Television is Ringing
The title of this article made me think about how my TV at home actually does “ring”. When someone calls our home phone the phone number comes up on the television screen and gives you the choice to answer it or ignore it by using your remote to navigate. This new feature only makes my parents more lazy and not have to get up when they see someone they do not want to talk to is calling. This article helped me answer the questions of why this new technology was now being used.
With convergence we are seeing companies spending billions of dollars to make it possible for “Your Television to Ring”. Their idea is to make it efficient and cost effect for their customers to use. With this idea of bundling services together you can get; internet, cable, a land line, etc. Now it is possible to get all of these services from one company.
This idea of bundling makes me think of Comcast. Their television commercials talk about the ease of bundling all of the services for one low price. It is an intriguing offer when you only one person has to come in to your home to install all the services you need. My parents use Comcast and that is how they are able to get phone numbers to show up on their television. Our phone line, internet provider and cable all come from Comcast. The ease of using Comcast and the ability to add new services when they come out is part of the tactic of convergence; as well as the low monthly price.
We are seeing the effects of convergence with other companies, and even cell phone providers. Cell phone providers are now offering internet service for your home. They are moving from a mobile company and now working their way into your homes with the internet.
This makes me wonder if wireless providers will be able to offer services without the use of a land line. For many homes the only reason they have a land line is because you must have the internet hooked up to it. It seems that the popularity of wireless companies would rise if they are able to bundle all of these services and get rid of the land line. Though this means that companies like Comcast wouldn’t be as appealing if because no one wants to pay for a land line that they are not using.
What do you think the next step is for convergence? What will companies try to add to their bundle packages and how will they use it to their advantage?
Do you think we will see companies that are monopolizing the industry by using convergence? Will this create company mergers?
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