Traditional Pay TV got butchered in the 3rd quarter. People are cutting the cord in droves.
ATT and Verizon with their wireless presence and infrastructure have to be gearing 5G towards being the over the top replacement to your current $100+ per month tv package.
They have a huge bullseye on Dish, Charter, Cox, and Comcast. Those non wireless television players do not have an answer for 5G. They don't have a wireless network and they don't have the infrastructure or know how to get a wireless network up and running. One of the reasons why I think a Sprint/Tmobile hookup is far inferior than a Comcast/Sprint hookup or Comcast/Charter/Sprint venture.
ATT was one of the top TV players getting slaughtered in 3Q losing 300-400K premium tv subscribers. They made some of it up with Direct TV now but that is swapping a margin rich $100+ per month subscriber for a break even $40-$50 per month subscriber. I don't think Verizon fared much better.
The FCC is all in on 5G. They know jobs will come with it along with wanting to be a world leader in technology and communications infrastructure. They hold up the STRP or FTWR license transfer then what will they do? Auction it off....how much time will that take? That will split up the licenses amongst squatters, speculators, and companies that will not do much with them. Here the FCC has the opportunity to hand the lion's share of 24/28/39 over to the two players who have the infrastructure, know how, subscriber bases, and cash flows to push 5G ahead many years versus letting these licenses go to auction. If they hand the licenses to ATT/VZ and they get 5G up and running all will be forgotten and it is a win for FCC, Industry, Taxpayers, and America.
The only way I see it is that the FCC and ATT cannot afford to have anything hold up the process or put forth the image that they(FCC) have been asleep at the wheel with regard to STRP. I see both being pushed through with some concessions and part of those concessions will be an ATT payment to remedy the unsecured and common. Interesting that you did not see a petition from a representative of the unsecured. Remember there is no love loss between the FCC and STRP and the Fibertower Bondholders but they have to benefit VZ and ATT so perhaps they ding the bondholders to the benefit of the common. Still believe the bondholders bought up a ton of the common in BK. Well by now you know my thoughts on this.
