Comcast 2014 Annual Report Download - page 20

Table of Contents
DSL technology allows Internet access to be provided to customers over phone lines at data transmission speeds substantially
greater than those of dial-
up modems. Phone companies and certain other companies offer DSL service, and several of these
companies have increased data transmission speeds, lowered prices or created bundled service packages. In addition, some
phone companies, such as AT&T, CenturyLink and Frontier, have built and are continuing to build out fiber deeper in their
networks, which allows them to provide data transmission speeds that exceed those that can be provided with traditional DSL
technology and are now offering these higher-
speed services in many of our service areas. Verizon, on the other hand, has built out
and continues to build out a fiber-to-the-home network in many of our services areas, while Google has launched a similar fiber-to-
the-home network and is providing high-
speed Internet services in a limited number of areas in which we operate and recently
announced plans to expand in additional geographical areas. Certain municipalities in our service areas are also building fiber-
based networks.
Various wireless companies are offering Internet services using a variety of network types, including 3G and 4G wireless high
-
speed Internet networks and Wi-
Fi networks. Some of these services are similar to ours. These networks work with devices such as
smartphones, laptops, tablets and mobile wireless routers, as well as wireless data cards. In addition, a number of commercial
venues, such as retail malls, restaurants and airports, offer Wi-
Fi service. Numerous local governments are also considering or
actively pursuing publicly subsidized Wi-
Fi and other Internet access networks. The availability of these wireless offerings could
negatively impact the demand for our high-speed Internet services.
Voice Services
Our voice services compete with wireline phone companies, including incumbent local exchange carriers (“ILECs”),
competitive
local exchange carriers (“CLECs”), wireless phone service providers and other Internet-
based and VoIP service providers. Certain
phone companies, such as the ILECs AT&T and Verizon, have substantial capital and other resources, longstanding customer
relationships, and extensive existing facilities and network rights-of-
way. A few CLECs also have existing local networks and
significant financial resources. In addition, we are increasingly competing with wireless phone service providers as customers
replace landline phones with mobile phones and Internet-based phone services.
Business Services
Our business services primarily compete for business services customers with a variety of phone companies, including ILECs and
CLECs. These companies either operate their own network infrastructure or rely on reselling all or part of another carrier’
s network.
We also compete with satellite operators who provide video offerings for businesses.
NBCUniversal Segments
Cable Networks and Broadcast Television
Our cable networks, broadcast television networks and owned local broadcast television stations compete for viewers’
attention and
audience share with all forms of programming provided to viewers, including cable, broadcast and premium networks, local
broadcast television stations, home entertainment, pay-per-
view and video on demand services, online activities, such as social
networking and viewing user-
generated content, video games, and other forms of entertainment, news and information. Our cable
networks, broadcast television networks and owned local broadcast television stations may compete for viewers’
attention with
subscription video on demand services, some of which have their own high-quality original content.
Our cable networks, broadcast television networks and owned local broadcast television stations compete for the acquisition of
programming and for on-
air and creative talent with other cable and broadcast networks, local television stations and subscription
video on demand services. The market for programming is very competitive, particularly for sports programming, where the cost for
such programming is significant.
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Comcast 2014 Annual Report on Form 10
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K