CNBC’s Dennis Kneale has some good news and some bad news about Verizon .
First, the good news: it's one of the most powerful wireless carriers in the world, with 93 million subscribers, up 27% in a year on acquisitions, he says.
Now the bad news: Verizon also owns phone lines into approximately 32 million homes, and in just two years 7.2 million accounts have cut the cord.
That’s an 18% drain despite the fact that Verizon dropped $23 billion to jazz up those lines with video fiber-optics.
What to do?
Smash ‘em up, says Kneale! But Dennis isn’t just saying it to be glib – he’s put pencil to paper and has come up with some viable suggestions:
Spin off the wireline business, he says, but keep long-haul fiber. That could free the company to lever up and buy out Vodafone's 45% stake in Verizon Wireless.
There's no real synergy between your cellphone and your HDTV so why have them under the same carrier's roof, says Kneale!
Hear more about this idea from Dennis Kneale. Watch the video above.
Kneale wrote about his idea at length – click here to read "Kneale: Why Verizon Needs to Split Apart"
Check out other Smash ‘Em Up reports from Dennis Kneale
> Smash Up News Corp, Says Dennis Kneale
> Smash ‘Em Up w/ Dennis Kneale
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