Apple might just drop a lifeline to broadcasters and ISPs

Apple is, I think, going to bring out a game changing TV and ecosystem around it.

And this should be grasped by ISPs as credible and immediate value proposition to upgrade customers to a substantially higher price point and keep them there.

Here's why (I believe) an Apple iTV solution is imminent:

• iPhone advances sound mediocre. Rumour mill about iPhone5 is that it's not a revolution. iPod news is scant
• Android will soon get as good as iPhones/iPads, and Apple don't seem to be fighting hard to ensure price premium
• A whopping new data center in North Carolina with whopping expansion plans must be for real time streaming purposes and not just storage & retreival

So, if TV is the next step (and it's only speculation), what would it have? Angry Birds on the TV -- probably. iPhone as a remote control -- probably. Realtime or near realtime TV -- probably. Netflix style old video -- probably. Kinect interface, facetime -- sure.

...and some things that we can't even imagine yet.

Are broadcasters dead in the water? Once HTC jumps on the same bandwagon and this goes past the Apple-afficianos, will the Internet collapse, broadcasters collapse and advertising dollar collapse into Apple and Google?

I think not.

Too many people still don't have a decent enough broadband connection to run skype video, let alone VOD.

It's time for ISPs to get their own back. Use this as an opportunity to sell faster broadband at a premium. Take the VirginMedia model from the UK, and many other ISPs, and add to it (finally) a credible value proposition for an upsell.

It's about time. ISPs need to invest in fiber, and this ain't cheap. Add £10/month from each broadband connection to sustain TV, and you might just manage to pay for it!