VERIZON EXEC PREDICTS CONSUMERS WILL CUT CORDS TO CABLE

Verizon Communications Inc. Chief Executive Ivan Seidenberg has taken issue with cable company executives who insist that their subscribers are not “cutting the cord” — i.e., dumping their cable subscriptions and accessing video sites on the Internet for their TV shows instead. Speaking at a Goldman Sachs investor’s conference in New York on Tuesday, Seidenberg maintained that 4G wireless technology, which his company began rolling out this week, will over time have a major impact on television distribution. “We never thought anybody would cut the cord on [telephone land lines}, right? We have got 30 percent of our customers cutting the cord [switching to wireless].” Seidenberg said that his company expects its 4G network will initially serve as a limited substitute for cable, serving alongside its wired FiOS system that provides even faster Internet connections and which has capabilities that 4G wireless does not — to deliver streaming high-definition 3D images, for example.