Consider this speculation.
I recently heard that Comcast may have dreams beyond cable. While none of that is a real secret, I think that some moves that have happened of late could be the harbinger of things to come.
First they hired AOL’s Advanced Services VP Jim Tobin. Clearly Tobin didn’t leave AOL to run a PSTN replacement which is what they currently offer.
What I’m hearing is that Comcast is in the mode to go wireless. Seems they already own some spectrum that would let them go in the WiMax direction. It just so happens that their markets don’t conflict with Towerstream a pre-WiMax company. A rumor I heard that makes some sense is that Comcast and Towerstream do something together, possibly with the end result being Comcast buying Towerstream.
Why? It eliminates the last mile and more importantly, as Comcast wants to go into new homes it cuts out the most costly part of the customer acquisition. The truck roll.
With WiMax Comcast, and other cable MSO’s thinking how to increase subscribers and reduce costs, yet stay ahead of the RBOC’s who want to roll out FTTH and IPTV a WiMax strategy makes total sense, and Tobin is just the guy to lead that effort for the Philadelphia based Comcast.