Articles by Jeff Kagan

During a recent grocery checkout conversation, it came up that I was a wireless analyst, and the cashier asked me which was the best wireless service and best smartphone. This is a question I get frequently, and though it seems straightforward, it's difficult to answer As I told the cashier, it depends....

Comcast has led the way in cable television ever since it acquired AT&T Broadband a decade ago. However, in recent years, new technologies -- like IPTV and wireless TV from new competitors like AT&T and DirecTV Now -- have been eating away at Comcast's growth. That's why Comcast not only has introduced Xfinity Mobile, which is its new wireless ser...

Ever wonder how the cable television industry would get back into the wireless business? Charter Spectrum has announced it will resell Comcast's Xfinity Mobile wireless service to customers inside its region. The good news is that this deal lets Charter get quick access to wireless without competing with Comcast Comcast and Charter Communications ...

Cable TV has been facing mounting attacks from new technologies and new competitors. C Spire recently joined the action, announcing plans to enter the pay-TV space. It's not yet clear what C Spire TV will be, or how it will impact the marketplace. We'll have to wait for C Spire to spell that out in the coming weeks. What we know so far is that C ...

Every time I walk into a retail store, I complain. I grumble to my wife about the same pet peeve every time we go shopping. After walking the aisles and filling the basket, you then must go through the most inefficient checkout process. First you unload everything in your basket, then it's rung up, then you put the items in bags that go back into ...

Uber CEO Travis Kalanick has earned a reputation for having a short fuse. In addition to his apparent personal anger management issues, there are the stresses that come with running a giant company -- and Uber recently has been losing executives. When it rains, it pours. What's happening with Kalanick, and can Uber recover its mojo? Many people ha...

Following decades of slow movement due to cable companies facing no competition, the television world is changing rapidly. Lots of challengers have arisen in the pay-TV space in recent years. One of the latest comes from Verizon, which has improved its FiOS mobile app to offer data-free streaming AT&T's DirecTV started this ball rolling with its w...

Both companies and individuals will have incredible opportunities ahead with the Internet of Things. IoT is starting to combine with artificial intelligence, cloud-based services, and many other new segments, creating a very fertile growing field. However, it also poses a growing threat for security. We need a secure IoT framework -- something tha...

Is your Android phone secure? President Donald Trump's favorite smartphone reportedly is an older Android device. Security concerns flared recently, following indications that he sent some tweets from it. Of course, the president has been given a special secure device, but it's not clear whether he is using it. My question is, if the president is ...

Wireless, telecom and pay TV -- including cable, satellite and Internet services -- are all on a growth trajectory, but each company is taking a different path. That means comparing them will be more difficult going forward. In the past, the companies in these sectors in many respects looked the same and offered nearly the same basic services. Looking forward however, things appear very different...

Do your customers come first? Companies spend a fortune to win and keep their customers. They advertise and market their products and services like crazy. Because of that cost, you would think every company would want to keep its customers happy. It's more cost-effective to keep an existing customer than to win a new one. If that's the case, why d...

Which wireless carrier is best? Many studies are undertaken every year, and while they are interesting and accurate, they often are not that useful in selecting the best carrier for you. Why? Simple. They are generic studies, but you are not a generic customer. If wireless performance were the same for every customer in every location, then the st...

Artificial intelligence will be having a big coming out party in 2017. While there are plenty of opportunities in this space for workers, executives, investors and partners, not every company that uses the term "AI" in its marketing will become a serious winner in the field. As advanced as AI is -- and I have seen some technology that would blow y...

Before you sit down at your kitchen table and lose money shopping for Christmas and holiday gifts, you'd be well advised to learn the rules of the online shopping road. They can be very different from one vendor to another, so shop carefully. Some companies do a great job with customer care. Others don't. I have been both delighted and burned seve...

With the launch of Stream Saver, AT&T Mobility has given users control over their streaming video quality. Stream Saver is similar to Sprint's video optimization and T-Mobile's Binge-On plans. Now, the only major carrier not offering a video optimization service is Verizon Wireless Stream Saver lets users choose. They can use it or not depending on...

Charter intends to revive the damaged Time Warner Cable image and brand in the minds of the customer and investor, which is both a challenge and an opportunity. Charter and Comcast are two of the companies American consumers hate the most. However, the pay-TV industry has begun a complete transformation. In the coming new world, both Charter and Comcast may have a second chance, if they can get past all the damage they caused to their own brand...

When news of Samsung's Batterygate first surfaced, I think that mine may have been the only voice saying the Samsung brand would suffer significant damage, but the company didn't realize it yet. It was lonely, but lately others have come to agree. Samsung now is going through one of the most painful times any company ever has endured. Its brand is...

There is a generational shift occurring in the television industry. Traditional cable TV, which dominated the last several decades, is going away. Companies like Comcast, Charter and Cox are facing something new: new technological innovation and competition. Which companies will survive, and which will not? Traditional cable TV is on the verge of a...

Like most of you, I'm a bank customer -- and I expect that like me, most of you are getting sick and tired of all the stories about how banks abuse customers. Recent national stories about bad behavior by people in the banking industry, as well as my own personal experiences, have shown that most banks do not care about their customers. It's just the opposite: Banks seem to be trying to squeeze every dime out of every customer...

Comcast tried to give wireless a go several years ago. It failed. It pulled out of wireless, sold its spectrum and was done. Now, wireless has expanded and changed, and competitors like AT&T's U-verse and DirecTV are using wireless to deliver television programming. I'll bet Comcast now wishes it never sold off its wireless spectrum. So, what can ...