Verizon is very well positioned for handling the macroeconomic downturn because of its FiOS growth and its early lead with LTE said Lowell McAdam, President and CEO of Verizon, speaking at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia XX Conference. Some notes from McAdam's talk:
- LTE is one of the true game changing technologies for the industry that really makes you sit up and say "wow". Verizon has seen a strong market acceptance for its LTE launch. The many new application possibilities coming through its LTE Innovation centers indicate that LTE will change the way many businesses are run. The company sees positive margin implications with the LTE network and will keep pushing LTE very hard in the market, building on its early lead.
- The company will build content linkage between FiOS and its LTE service.
- The market opportunity to expand the FiOS rollout at the moment is small, but this could change depending on labor costs and technology. The company is looking at in-home wireless networking that would deliver HD to multiple TV sets in a large house without the expense of setting up and maintaining coax cabling. This could change the model for FiOS and lead the company to expand the rollout further than what it has already committed to.
- McAdam does not hold a position on the AT&T + T-Mobile merger and DOJ lawsuit. Verizon is watching this deal very closely and is concerned about impact that government rulings will have on the market. He felt that AT&T's spectrum crunch made it inevitable that they would attempt such an acquisition.
- McAdam is not worried about Sprint getting the iPhone.
- The Terramark acquisition opens up new possibilities in enterprise services.
- In addition to iOS and Android, McAdam predicts a third ecosystem will gain traction this year.
