AOL merged with Time Warner and now Verizon buys it. How times change.
Still I am concerned about all the consilidstion in the telecom industry...
Verizon to Buy AOL for $4.4B
61–70 of 239 posts
Re: Verizon to Buy AOL for $4.4B
#62AOL in a big media deal, Clinton running for office, stocks at all time highs. What's not to love about 2000.
You win the internet for today.
Re: Verizon to Buy AOL for $4.4B
#63While many are seeing this as bizarre, it is not. This is a programmatic and verticalization play. Verizon has been investing in adtech companies and provides the means of distribution. The deal allows them to now own the content as well. As someone in the advertising agency, Verizon has been one of the few telecoms that have enabled advertisers to utilize their data. This deal furthers their ability to tie mobile data with content for targeting and reporting purposes. You also have to remember Verizon is a TV content distributor that may pave way to AOL content distribution and allow true ROI measurement on Linear TV.
Re: Verizon to Buy AOL for $4.4B
#64Earlier quoted context omitted.
4G is generally available in rural areas?
Yes; Verizon has an offering designed explicitly for rural areas[1], but it's expensive. The linked article is from 2012, and prices have since declined, but the general gist of the service is the same: a big antenna you bolt to your house or a tree and will pull from an existing account-level share plan (if you have one). [1] http://www.cnet.com/news/verizons-homefusion-now-brings-4g-l...
The last time I lived in a deep rural area (Norton, KS) there wasn't a good cell option. The cell tower that covered the town was flaky at best in terms of reception. So, I guess your mileage may vary applies in that situation?
Re: Verizon to Buy AOL for $4.4B
#65Earlier quoted context omitted.
4G is generally available in rural areas?
Yes; Verizon has an offering designed explicitly for rural areas[1], but it's expensive. The linked article is from 2012, and prices have since declined, but the general gist of the service is the same: a big antenna you bolt to your house or a tree and will pull from an existing account-level share plan (if you have one). [1] http://www.cnet.com/news/verizons-homefusion-now-brings-4g-l...
You still have to be in a 4G coverage zone. I guess we're getting into the definition of "rural." Where I live I have no coverage from any carrier.
Re: Verizon to Buy AOL for $4.4B
#66Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yes, there's a shrinking, but still very lucrative, dialup business. It's provided the capital for Aol's growth into media and advertising these past several years.
Gotta love old people adverse to change, or thinking they still need to pay for email.
What does dialup have to do with email?
You still need connectivity to access free email providers. And for older folk who do nothing other than email, do not have smartphones, but do have a landline... 20 a month on dialup makes more sense than 50 a month for Comcast.
Sure, it sounds ridiculous to us who are permanently connected and do not even have landlines... but to the 65+ community, there really still is a small, shrinking, but real use case for dialup access.
Re: Verizon to Buy AOL for $4.4B
#67Earlier quoted context omitted.
4G is generally available in rural areas?
Not right now, but is there a reason why it won't be?
Economics of covering the area. If it costs more to cover than they expect to make in any reasonable time frame, especially if it never breaks even when you account in maintenance, then they won't do it.
Re: Verizon to Buy AOL for $4.4B
#68So I guess CompuServe is back in one piece again...
Re: Verizon to Buy AOL for $4.4B
#69Another former AOLer here. They tried to make a run at the broadband market in the early aughts by partnering with various telcos (I know; I was part of the team that built the back-end interface with the ISPs), but it was too little, too late. I never understood how AOL thought that would be sustainable in the long term.
A few months after I left the entire billing department saw deep cuts after AOL nixed their monthly subscription fees for dial-up.
Re: Verizon to Buy AOL for $4.4B
#70Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yes, there's a shrinking, but still very lucrative, dialup business. It's provided the capital for Aol's growth into media and advertising these past several years.
Gotta love old people adverse to change, or thinking they still need to pay for email.
Not to mention those people who live in areas still not serviced by any broadband providers. I know, insane, right? I thought everyone lived in cities too!