- After suffering more broadband losses, Comcast intends to ramp up focus on wireless, where it sees itself as a “challenger”
- But it still needs to improve its subscriber losses to make it in the convergence game, said MoffettNathanson
- Comcast’s new low latency tech could help it fare better against fixed wireless access competitors
Bad broadband beats just keep on coming for Comcast due to pressure from fiber and other wireline competitors. Something has to change to salvage the business, and the company thinks doubling down on convergence just might be the answer.
Comcast in 2025 intends to lean more into the wireless segment “than ever before,” stated President Mike Cavanaugh on the Q4 earnings call. This comes after Comcast suffered worse-than-expected broadband subscriber losses, shedding 131,000 residential broadband customers.
The operator already offers some Xfinity mobile and internet bundles, but plans to include wireless with more “higher tier” broadband products in the coming months, Cavanaugh said. Those plans will be rolled out in markets where Comcast has upgraded its network to enable faster upload speeds. It also aims to boost speeds for its Wi-Fi hotspots.
Indeed, wireless was a silver lining in Comcast’s Q4 results, as it reported 307,000 net additions on its mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) service.
“We are the challenger in a market that is two and a half times the size of broadband with a capital light strategy that does not require network trade-offs,” said Cavanaugh.
Comcast also touted record revenues of $124 billion for full-year 2024. But that and its growing wireless base doesn’t change the fact that the company still missed the mark on the one metric that “virtually all anyone cares about,” said MoffettNathanson analysts. Broadband, of course.
The heightened focus on wireless amounts to “nothing less than a new go-to-market strategy for broadband,” the firm said in a note to investors. The path Comcast has carved out for convergence is not unlike Charter’s approach to broadband and mobile bundling.
Both Charter and Comcast’s MVNO services ride on Verizon’s network. But Charter “has really taken wireless execution to the next level and outperformed Comcast,” Recon Analytics principal Roger Entner told Fierce.
Can Comcast make it in the convergence game? Maybe, but broadband losses need to improve first.
“For the market to begin focusing on the wireless opportunity, broadband subscribership doesn’t need to grow,” MoffettNathanson wrote. “It only needs to stabilize.”
Looking at the overall cable market, New Street Research predicted while cable net adds will improve in 2025, they likely won’t turn positive anytime soon. Particularly “if immigration slows as we now expect.” But on the wireless side, the Big 3 carriers don’t seem too fazed so far on the impact immigration will have on their businesses.
Cable operators must continue to contend with competition from not just fiber but fixed wireless access and low-earth orbit satellite. Edward Jones analyst David Heger said Comcast still faces “tough competition” from fixed wireless, but thinks the company will remain competitive in the broadband market as network upgrades move along.
Wireless aspirations aside, Comcast is cranking up its network performance for applications like gaming and video streaming, thanks to new low latency technology. The move to roll out low latency DOCSIS “will be a really key differentiator” for Comcast, said Dell’Oro Group VP Jeff Heynen – especially against fixed wireless competitors. He noted Comcast has frequently reiterated how its network is built for streaming.
It’s a way to “justify a premium price for Comcast’s 500 Mbps-1 Gbps speed tiers, which is really the sweet spot for cable operators,” Heynen said.
