Cable is bad, even more so the companies behind it. They need to be extinguished and erased off the face of America's entertainment industry forever. That's at least what's T-Mobile is saying — and it might just do it.
The carrier just announced that it's planning to launch its own streaming service next year, but it's asked for some help to do the job. It's acquiring Layer3 TV, which is a small cable company that's only available in major U.S. cities. Yet with it, T-Mobile is confident it can change the cable landscape once and for all
How?
Layer3 TV
In simple terms, T-Mobile thinks changing the cable game is all about bandwidth. Layer3 TV is a company that in many aspects is like typical cable companies in the country: customers get a fiber optic cable hooked up to their household, and they get a cable box to get started. But the difference is that it uses internet protocol encoded signal, the same thing Netflix uses to push video, instead of radio-frequency system most cable companies base their technology on.
The great thing about Layer3 TV is that manages content bandwidth directly through its own private IP network, cutting off the middlemen who might throttle data speeds. This is one of the biggest aspects that sets it apart from Comcast or Verizon.
What's more, Layer3 transmits HD video better than most other services, according to a Wired interview in 2016. In fact, CEO Jeff Binder claims Layer3 TV can send HD quality video at less than 4 Mbps.
Not only it is faster, it's much more efficient at handling and managing content as well. The Layer3 TV box bundles major streaming platforms the likes of Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime Video into a single interface, and the software integrates content from all those, in addition to DVR recordings and its own content, and learns from it. Thus, it gets better at making recommendations over time.
Oh, and it supports two of the most popular voice assistants as well, Amazon Alexa and Google Home. It also offers breakaway boxes for different members of the household to easily access content from different rooms without having to fuss with signal or quality loss.
Can T-Mobile Really Change Cable's Old Stubborn Ways?
So is T-Mobile going to implement all this technology into its new cable service? It's hard to say. Even harder to say is whether the carrier stands a chance in achieving what it wants. Changing the whole cable TV landscape is an extremely tall order, that's for sure. But with Layer3 TV, T-Mobile hopes to at least disrupt it and give consumers options they deserve.
Check out T-mobile CEO John Legere talking about Layer3 TV below. Fair warning, though: expletives are thrown quite frequently, although it's a funny, if a little exciting, call to action overall.
