Comcast said today it plans to offer subscribers the option to watch their favorite TV shows on mobile devices through its WiMAX network.
Speaking during the Goldman Sachs conference, Comcast CFO Michael Angelakis said it would eventually allow its cable television subscribers to watch shows via the Web at no additional charge.
Sprint now includes its MobiTV service, which uses their cellular network, with any of its Everything Data plans, while Qualcomm’s Flo TV, which uses a dedicated 700 Mz channel, has recently completed its nationwide rollout. Meanwhile, the Open Mobile Video Coalition is available as a free mobile TV provided by some television broadcasters.
WiMAX has more channel capacity than those Mobile television competitors — and it can potentially deliver entertainment on-demand — OR multicast it to millions, with less overhead.
Comcast recently started rolling out its mobile WiMAX service as part of a joint venture with Clearwire, bundling the wireless service with its home Internet package.
The company is also exploring adding a mobile voice option to WiMAX that would put it in more direct competition with mobile phone providers, reports Reuters. Angelakis said there have been discussions about delivering voice products over their “4G” network but said it is still too early to reveal details.
“I think there’s a real goal to make sure that the Clearwire partnership is successful and works well for us, and meets the goal objectives we have,” said Angelakis today when asked to provide an update on the AWS holdings at the Goldman Sachs conference in New York City.
