Comcast & Charter Going Wireless. Verizon, T-Mobile add More Broadband Sub’s Than Cable

Together, Charter and Comcast now have amassed nearly 9 million mobile subscribers, adding 671,000 in Q2 ’22, capturing over 49% of the net adds in the industry.

 Meanwhile, Verizon and T-Mobile added 880,000 more net broadband adds last quarter than all US cable companies combined thanks to their Fixed Wireless Access (“FWA”) offerings. This represents a trend that is likely to continue as Verizon and T-Mobile progressively deploy more spectrum and resources and solely at capturing broadband customers.

 Blurred Lines

Several years ago, cable companies turned to a mobile network reseller strategy (“MVNO”) to offer mobile devices, home automation offerings and a vast array of IoT devices to strengthen the retention characteristics of their broadband subscriber base. Both Compact and Charter have MVNO agreements with Verizon.

Comcast and Charter have since amassed a network of millions of public Wi-Fi hotspots to reduce their MVNO data cost and reliance on Verizon.

In addition, both cable companies have purchased wireless spectrum within their footprint and recently begun to deploy supplemental mobile networks of their own to creating a stronger, more profitable offerings that leverage both VZ’s and their own wireless infrastructure.

 In Each Other’s Pocket

Although cable carriers possess a limited amount of wireless spectrum and wireless carriers have a limited amount of core fiber capacity to provide service to large numbers of subscribers, it’s important to note that both companies are making substantial capex commitments to expand that capacity.

 Collectively, Verizon and T-Mobile have indicated they plan to capture roughly 12 million broadband subscribers by 2024. Comcast and Charter, of the other hand, also sees an enormous revenue opportunity, best described by Comcast Chairman Brian Roberts as “We’ve barely scratched the surface in the opportunity here at only 8% penetration of our residential broadband customers”.

tional cable offerings.

Aggressive Market Share Growth Ahead

Given the drastically lower capex and deployment metrics of FWA, wireless operators will progressively target home and business markets as more spectrum comes online and fiber densification reaches deeper into their coverage footprint.

 Market Uncertainty Creates Opportunity

– Growth rates and subscriber trends are highly predictable

– A solid understanding of technology roadmap and metrics provides clarity as well as a substantial opportunity to benefit from market uncertainty

– Proprietary metrics and benchmarking necessary as FWA rapidly moves from talking point to a financial line item