Carriers Concentrate On Content

In an effort to compete with the likes of Google and Netflix and add more value, many of the large, incumbent carriers have been on a mission to acquire content instead of simply offering connectivity.

AT&T announced its plans to acquire media and entertainment conglomerate Time Warner for a whopping $85.4 billion. Verizon in July announced its intent to acquire Internet giant Yahoo's media, search and communications assets in a $4.83 billion deal, which the provider hopes to integrate with the AOL assets it acquired in 2015. Verizon was also rumored to be sniffing around CBS, a company that was set to merge with Viacom before the deal fell through in December.

With the consolidation trend only picking up steam, telecom providers will be most likely continuing to compete by way of acquiring premium content.