Correspondents in New York | January 10, 2006
NEWS Corp. chief executive Rupert Murdoch says the company will shortly reveal how it will enter the US wireless high-speed internet market.
The plans are likely to involve DirecTV Group Inc. investing about $US1 billion, Mr Murdoch said."You'll be hearing from us within two months on a very clear plan on what will happen," Mr Murdoch told investors attending the Citigroup entertainment, media and telecommunications conference in Arizona.
Mr Murdoch said the plans were likely to be primarily driven by top US satellite TV operator DirecTV Group, which News Corp, publisher of AustralianIT, controls.
Last year, DirecTV publicly disclosed it was researching plans to enter the wireless market, possibly through an investment or a partnership with a company involved in WiMax technology, an emerging form of high-speed wireless service.
US satellite TV service providers do not currently offer high- speed internet services to residential consumers.
Offering high speed internet service could improve satellite TV operator's position as it competes against cable operators and telephone companies, which already offer television, internet service and telephone services to its customers.
But DirecTV executives said at the time no decisions were made.
"We are looking at various alternatives ? perhaps going it alone and, of course, the different technologies," Mr Murdoch said.