Cable Wireless MVNOs Set for Further Growth in 2024

Cable wireless mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) are important component of the effectively competitive wireless communications market. The two largest cable MVNO services – Comcast's Xfinity Mobile and Charter's Spectrum Mobile – have been in operation only a handful of years. Although their subscribership is far below the three major mobile wireless providers T-Mobile, Verizon, and AT&T, cable MVNOs have made modest but steady gains ever since they entered into the wireless market. According to recent reports, Xfinity Mobile finished 2023 with 6.58 million subscribers and Spectrum Mobile finished with 7.8 million.  

There remains plenty of room for growth in 2024, as cable MVNOs continue to explore using their own licensed CBRS spectrum to carry mobile wireless traffic and reduce reliance on leased spectrum. According to an article published on January 10 of this year in LightReading, Cox Mobile also is looking to expand its wireless offerings in 2024, and it is now conducting tests on licensed CBRS spectrum for fixed wireless access (FWA) applications. As noted in a February 2023 article in FierceWireless, Cox paid $200 million for CBRS spectrum licensees auctioned by the FCC. Cox Communications is not publicly traded and doesn't publish subscriber numbers.