Charter/Cox Transaction, Approved by Federal Regulators, Awaits California OK

On March 19, the New York State Public Service Commission approved – with questionable conditions – the transfer of control of Cox Enterprises, Inc. (Cox) to Charter Communications, Inc. (Charter). Weeks before, the FCC signed off on this pro-consumer transaction with no strings attached. The Department of Justice (DOJ), for its part, cleared the deal in September 2025, thereby triggering a one-year countdown during which the transaction must close lest that approval expire.

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) now stands as the final, time-sensitive hurdle preventing the formation of a combined company better able to compete in broadband, mobile, and video. The parties therefore requested on February 27 that, should the CPUC find it necessary to hold an evidentiary hearing, it do so "promptly" – specifically, at some point next week. However, on March 2, the CPUC announced that it would not hold evidentiary hearings until April 20-24.

In a June 2025 Perspectives from FSF Scholars, FCC comments coauthored with Free State Foundation President Randolph May, and a brief submission to the CPUC, I consistently have argued that this transaction likely would deliver tangible consumer benefits without imposing significant offsetting harms. For example, in those comments filed with the CPUC, I wrote that:

[T]he combination of these two companies promises to provide California consumers of broadband, wireless, and video services with cost savings, expanded choice, and accelerated innovation, particularly in Cox service areas. Moreover, potential concerns regarding transaction-specific harms are obviated by (1) the de minimis overlap between the parties' respective geographic footprints, and (2) the substantial competitive pressures cable operators face from Big Tech, rival distribution technologies, and over-the-top content providers.

In a February 27 order, the Chiefs of the FCC's Wireline Competition Bureau, Office of International Affairs, and Wireless Telecommunications Bureau agreed, concluding that there are "certain public interest benefits [that] are likely to be realized, including promoting competition and consumer benefits for broadband and other services the combined company will provide" – and not "a significant likelihood of any material transaction-related public interest harms."

But as these things go, Charter and Cox also must obtain approvals from the states within which they operate. As noted above, New York recently blessed the transaction – though not without first extracting a figurative pound of flesh in the form of commitments to (1) spend at least $100 million on network upgrades to deliver symmetric Gigabit per second broadband speeds (that is, speeds well above the FCC's definition of "broadband": 100 Megabits per second (Mbps) downstream and 20 Mbps upstream), (2) replace 500+ Wi-Fi access points and provide free Wi-Fi access to non-customers, and (3) "fund digital inclusion and community initiatives."

That leaves California.

At the Morgan Stanley Investors Conference earlier this month, Charter Communications, Inc. CEO Chris Winfrey acknowledged that, "[n]o secret, we're working through California as the big state that remains open." And as a Charter spokesperson was quoted in a recent Broadband Breakfast article, "[w]e are working with California state regulators to complete the transaction review soon so we can bring lower prices, higher wages, and our 100% US-based customer service to more communities across the country."

There is now widespread agreement, at both the federal and state levels, that the combination of Charter and Cox would net substantial consumer benefits. California therefore should conclude its review with all due speed. Specifically, it should do so with a watchful eye toward the September 15 expiration date associated with the DOJ's approval – a deadline that, if missed, "would cost the companies $2.5 million in filing fees and require them to wait at least another 30 days for DOJ clearance."

FWA and Cable MVNO Services Gains Continue in Mid-2024

Fixed wireless access (FWA) residential broadband services as well as cable wireless mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) services are the faces of cross-platform competition in today's communications marketplace. Second quarter results for 2024 show continued growth of these services.

On July 31, T-Mobile announced that it added 406,000 FWA subscribers during the second quarter of 2024, upping its overall FWA subscriber total to 5.6 million. On July 22, Verizon announced that it added 378,000 FWA subscribers for a total of 3.8 million. On July 24 AT&T announced that it added 139,000 subscribers to its AT&T Internet Air service, reportedly growing its total FWA subscriber count to about 350,000.

News articles – including this June 6 LightReading article, "FWA in the USA: Getting ready for Phase 2," which helpfully summarizes different analyst takes on the future of the service – indicate that FWA continues to pose a particularly strong competitive challenge to cable broadband services. 

However, cable broadband providers continue attracting new subscribers to their MVNO wireless service offerings. According to a July 26 announcement by Charter Communications, its Spectrum Mobile service added 557,000 subscribers during the second quarter of 2024. At the quarter's end, Spectrum Mobile had 8.8 million subscribers. Additionally, Comcast announced on July 23 that it had gained 322,000 subscribers to Xfinity Mobile during the second quarter, increasing its subscriber total to 7.2 million. 

 

As I wrote in a blog post on May 3 of this year, "[t]he proper response by the FCC to the growth of FWA and cable MVNO in the communications market should be to emphasize market competition as a safeguard to consumer welfare rather than stringent government regulation." At that time, I observed that the Commission chose the wrong response on April 25 by re-imposing Title II public utility regulation on wireline and wireless broadband Internet Access services. However, the Sixth Circuit issued an order imposing a stay on the FCC's Safeguarding and Securing the Open Internet that keeps the regulation from going into effect while the legal challenge before the court proceeds to the merits. Free State Foundation President Randolph May responded to the court's stay order in an August 2 press release titled "The FCC Should Turn to Productive Endeavors." 

 

One productive endeavor that the Commission should be pursuing is increased spectrum availability for commercial use. As FSF President May and I wrote in FSF’s July 2024 public comments to the FCC for its forthcoming Communications Marketplace Competition Report:

 

To further promote competition, innovation, and investment in the broadband marketplace, the Commission should work proactively to make more spectrum available for commercial use and by removing regulatory barriers to broadband deployment… There is particularly strong demand for additional mid-band spectrum. The Commission ought to prioritize the lower 3.1-3.45 GHz band for study and prompt repurposing… Although proposals for repurposing different bands are at different stages of development and each faces unique challenges, the Commission should advance every proposal for spectrum that may realistically be suitable for commercial uses – whether on a licensed or unlicensed basis. A larger spectrum supply will enable more competitors to serve more Americans with next-gen services. 

FWA and Cable MVNO Services Make More Gains in Early 2024

The reality of cross-platform competition in today's communications marketplace is evidenced by the continued growth of fixed wireless access (FWA) residential broadband services as well as cable wireless mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) services.

On April 25, T-Mobile announced that it added 405,000 FWA subscribers during the first quarter of 2024, bringing its overall FWA subscriber total to over 5 million. Verizon announced that it added 203,000 FWA subscribers during the first quarter, resulting in a total of 3.4 million. AT&T announced that it added 110,000 subscribers to its new FWA service during the first quarter, increasing its total FWA subscriber count to more than 200,000. 

It is reported that T-Mobile set an initial target of having 7-to-8 million FWA subscribers in 2025 and that Verizon has set a target of 4-to-5 million FWA subscribers for next year. Additionally, New Street Research reportedly has predicted that AT&T will be adding approximately 180,000 FWA subscribers per quarter during the remainder of 2024, with potential increases over the quarters that follow. It is reported that there is some difference in outlook among market analysts such as TD Cowen and Moffett Nathanson regarding how much competitive pressure FWA will put on cable broadband in the near term. 

 

Meanwhile, cable broadband providers continue attracting new subscribers to their MVNO offerings. According to an April 26 announcement by Charter Communications, its Spectrum Mobile service added 486,000 subscribers during the first quarter of 2024. At quarter's end, Spectrum Mobile had 8.3 million subscribers. Additionally, Comcast announced that it had gained 289,000 subscribers to Xfinity Mobile, increasing its subscriber total to 6.9 million. 

 

The proper response by the FCC to the growth of FWA and cable MVNO in the communications market should be to emphasize market competition as a safeguard to consumer welfare rather than stringent government regulation. Unfortunately, the Commission took the latter approach on April 25 when it voted 3-2 to subject broadband Internet access services to public utility regulation. The Free State Foundation filed comments and reply comments in the FCC’s Safeguarding and Securing the Open Internet proceeding that opposed public utility regulation. 

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. 

Cable MVNOs Subscribership Continues to Climb in 2023

Cable wireless mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) are effective intermodal competitors in today's communications marketplace. An article published in Fierce Wireless on October 27 of this year summarizes third quarter growth in cable MVNO services by the two largest services, Comcast's Xfinity Mobile and Charter's Spectrum Mobile:

Comcast yesterday reported the company added 294,000 wireless lines in Q3 2023. Comcast now has 6.2 million wireless lines in total. In contrast, Charter today reported it added 594,000 wireless lines in Q3, bringing its total wireless lines to 7.2 million.

My August 1 blog post observed that in the second quarter of 2023, Xfinity Mobile gained 316,000 lines and Spectrum Mobile gained 648,000 lines. 

 

Significant growth potential remains for both cable MVNO services within their respective geographic footprints. And as noted in the Fierce Wireless article, the cost-efficiency and competitiveness of those services is likely to improve in the near future as a result of buildouts of their own wireless infrastructure using small cells and licensed CBRS spectrum. Deployment of such networks as well as increased offloading of mobile traffic onto cable MVNO wi-fi networks, will make hybrid cable MVNOs less and less "virtual" and make their services less costly to provide by reducing their reliance on leasing wholesale access to mobile cellular networks. 

 

Importantly, the mobile broadband choices offered by cable MVNO services did not exist when the FCC imposed public utility regulation on mobile broadband Internet access services in the 2015 Title II Order. That order proffered "switching costs" for mobile broadband consumers and supposed incentives and ability by mobile providers to unreasonably discriminate against their own subscribers as supposed justifications for imposing public utility regulation. Commentsfiled with the FCC by the Free State Foundation in July 2017 explained that those rationales were not persuasive. In late 2023, competition from cable MVNOs further undermines those rationales for imposing public utility regulation. Any wireless provider that blocks or throttles their own subscribers' access to legal content via the Internet or otherwise unreasonably discriminates against their own subscribers risks massive loss of subscribership. Instead of foisting new regulatory restrictions on mobile broadband providers to address non-existent harms, the Commission should maintain the pro-market, pro-investment, and pro-innovation federal light-touch policy set forth in the 2018 Restoring Internet Freedom Order. 

Cable MVNOs and FWA Continue to Gain Subscribers in 2023

One of the most intriguing facets of today's communications marketplace is the intermodal competition enabled by cable wireless mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) and fixed wireless access (FWA) residential broadband services offered by mobile wireless providers. In late July, both cable MVNOs and FWA providers released positive quarterly reports for the second quarter of 2023, providing an updated picture of these increasingly popular services.

During the second quarter of this year, the gains continued for cable MVNO Charter's Spectrum Mobile. According to its quarterly report that was released on July 31, Spectrum Mobile added 648,000 lines during the end of the quarter. That brought Spectrum Mobile's total to more than 6.6 million mobile lines. And Comcast's Xfinity, which released its quarterly report on July 27, had 316,000 net wireless line additions during the quarter. Xfinity now has just under 6 million wireless lines. 

 

Meanwhile, T-Mobile released its quarterly report on July 27. T-Mobile had 509,000 net subscriber additions for FWA high-speed Internet service, and it ended the quarter with 3.7 million FWA subscribers. Also, Verizon released its quarterly report on July 25. Verizon had 384,000 net additions for its FWA service, bringing its FWA subscriber total up to almost 2.3 million. Notably, U.S. Cellular reported on August 1 that it has surpassed 100,000 subscribers to its FWA service. 

 

Both cable wireless MVNO and FWA services depend on spectrum – both unlicensed and licensed. Right now, the most pressing need is more licensed spectrum to support 5G wireless services, including FWA. The best thing that Congress can do to fill this need is to pass H.R. 3565, the Spectrum Reauthorization Act of 2023. For more on this legislation, see FSF Senior Fellow Andrew Long's July 21 blog post, "Congress Should Reinstate the FCC's Spectrum Auction Authority."

Cable Mobile Wireless MVNOs Off to Strong Start in 2023

Comcast's Xfinity Mobile and Charter's Spectrum Mobile released their latest quarterly number for subscriber additions, both of which are summed up nicely in a May 1 FierceWireless article by Linda Hardesty:

Comcast added 355,000 net wireless lines in its first quarter 2023. During the same quarter, Charter added a whopping 686,000 Spectrum Mobile lines — an indication that its 12-month Spectrum One bundled promotion is paying off in garnering new subscribers.

Comcast now counts 5.7 million lines for its mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) service, while Charter counts 6 million total lines.

A May 10 FierceWireless article by the same author also calls attention to Spectrum Mobile’s sharing of Wi-Fi networks with Xfinity mobile as well as other Wi-Fi network partners. It is reported that about 85% of Spectrum Mobile’s data traffic is carried on Wi-Fi and the remainder is carried on Verizon Wireless’s cellular network pursuant to an MVNO agreement. And Spectrum Mobile is now beginning to put some of Charter’s CBRS (3.5 GHz) spectrum into use in order to reduce further its dependency on third party-cellular networks.

Although cable wireless MVNO subscribership is still small compared to that of mobile cellular wireless providers such as AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, C-Spire, and US Cellular, cable wireless MVNOs offer consumers a strong facilities-based competitive choice for mobile wireless broadband services. The continued growth of cable MVNOs also is a testament to private innovation and investment as well as the importance of making more spectrum available for commercial uses, both on a licensed and on an unlicensed basis. 

 

The competitive state of the broadband marketplace is the subject of my Perspectives from FSF Scholars from January of this year: "The 2022 Communications Marketplace Report: Timely FCC Action Could Accelerate Next-Gen Broadband Deployment."

Cox Mobile Gives Consumers Another Choice for Wireless Services

On January 5, Cox Communications announced the launch of Cox Mobile. The mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) service is available to its Internet subscribers in Cox's geographic markets. It is reported that Cox Mobile harnesses over 4 million Cox Wi-Fi hot spots in combination with Verizon's 5G cellular network.

As pointed out in blog posts from May, September, and October 2022, consumer adoption of cable wireless MVNO services that are bundled with fixed residential cable broadband Internet access services continues to grow. The launch of Cox Mobile is another indicator of the competitiveness of the wireless marketplace. Consumers living in Cox's footprint will now gain an additional choice for mobile wireless services. 

Notably, these hybrid-model cable wireless MVNOs are not mere resellers. They rely, in substantial part, on their own network facilities. And it is widely expected that these competitive cable wireless MVNOs will put more of their own licensed spectrum into use and thereby reduce their business costs for leasing wholesale access to mobile cellular networks. In 2023, it will be interesting to watch the technological development of these emergent services as well as consumer responses.  

Cable Mobile Wireless MVNOs Set Record With New Subscribers

On October 27 and 28, Comcast and Charter Communications each released their third quarter results for 2022. Both Comcast's Xfinity Mobile and Charter's Spectrum Mobile posted record numbers of net subscriber additions for their cable mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) wireless services. Comcast reported 330,000 wireless net subscriber additions during the third quarter, bringing Xfinity Mobile's total subscribership to 4.95 million. And this last week Xfinity Mobile announced that it has surpassed 5 million subscribers. Meanwhile, Charter reported 396,000 net subscriber additions, bringing the total number of Spectrum Mobile subscriber lines up to 4.7 million. 

Cable MVNO services – which include Altice – combine cable network facilities, including Wi-Fi hot spots, with spectrum leased from Verizon Wireless. This hybrid model enables cable MVNOs to serve subscribers outside of their respective traditional cable video geographic footprints. As described in the Free State Foundation's July 2022 comments to the FCC for its forthcoming 2022 Communications Marketplace Report, these mobile wireless offerings by cable MVNOs are an increasingly important source of intermodal competition, giving consumers an attractively-priced wireless alternative to mobile wireless carriers. Cable MVNO wireless offerings include 5G wireless, and they also are offered to consumers in bundles with fixed broadband as well as with cable video. 

As observed in my May 2 blog post, cable wireless MVNOs are continuing to pursue strategies for offloading mobile wireless traffic onto their own licensed spectrum in select geographic areas, creating cost savings from reduced reliance on leased spectrum. The future prospects for cable MVNOs appear to remain strong, and American consumers stand to benefit from their innovative and competitive offerings. 

Cable Mobile Wireless MVNOs: 8.4 Million Subscribers and Counting

A September article by Jeff Baumgartner at LightReading spotlights the continued growth in wireless services offered by cable mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) offered by Comcast's Xfinity Mobile, Charter Communications' Spectrum Mobile, and Altice USA's Optimum Mobile. According to the article, at the end of the second quarter of 2022, those three cable MVNOs added a combined 703,000 mobile lines for a total of 8.4 million. Although that figure reportedly amounts to less than 3% of the U.S. mobile wireless market, the article cited a MoffettNathanson estimate that cable MVNOs gained almost 44% of net mobile adds for that quarter. And the 8.4 million figure for cable MVNO subscriber lines is up from the 6.5 million total from a year prior that was noticed in my August 2021 blog post.  

The LightReading article is particularly interesting because it highlights an analysis of mobile postpaid plans by categories by Navi. According to the article, "Navi's Q2 2022 Wireless Plan Scoring Report" apparently ranks Spectrum Mobile the highest among competing mobile providers in the entry-level and value categories, with Xfinity Mobile also performing strongly in the value category. As the article observes, cable MVNO services are offered in discount bundles with residential cable broadband Internet access services. 

My blog post on May 2 of this year noted that Comcast and Charter are looking to expand their Wi-Fi and cable network offloading capabilities to more cost-effectively provide cable MVNO services. Added to that intriguing development is Cox Communications' August 29 announcement of its launch of a three-city pilot for its Cox Mobile MVNO service. Suffice to day, the continued growth of cable MVNO networks will likely remain interesting to watch in 2022 and beyond. 

Cable Continues to Gain Traction in the Mobile Wireless Market

Cable broadband operators have proved again that they are a potent source of competition in the mobile wireless market. During the first quarter 2022, Charter gained 373,000 net subscribers to its Spectrum Wireless service. This raised Charter's wireless subscriber base to 3.9 million as of the end of the first quarter, a 47.2% increase compared to a year earlier. Meanwhile, Comcast gained 318,000 subscribers to its Xfinity Mobile service. At quarter's end, Comcast's wireless subscribers had risen to almost 4.3 million. And Altice added 12,000 subscribers to its Optimum Mobile wireless service during the first quarter, reaching a total 198,000 subscribers.

Free State Foundation Legal Fellow Andrew Maglouglin and I called attention to the quick rise of cable mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) and their benefits to wireless consumers in our Perspectives from FSF Scholars, "The Broadband Internet Services Market in January 2022: 5G, Cable, Fixed Wireless, Wi-Fi 6, and Fiber Are Benefitting Consumers." The impressive first quarter 2022 results reported by cable MVNOs indicate that consumers are continuing to take interest in these innovative choices for wireless services. 

 

Aside from positive subscriber addition numbers for early 2022, the competitive outlook for cable MVNOs is strong because of their ability to leverage their existing cable and wi-fi network infrastructure to offload mobile wireless traffic. It is reported that about 85% of Spectrum Mobile subscribers' mobile usage goes through Charter's Wi-Fi network. And Charter's joint venture with Comcast to offload traffic using CBRS spectrum reportedly is in early trial stages. Expect to hear more about cable's growing stature in the mobile wireless market. 

FCC Should Finally Make a Decision on Verizon/TracFone Merger

Verizon has stepped up its commitments regarding its proposed acquisition of TracFone, and the FCC should finally make a decision on the merger. In an ex parte filing dated November 18, Verizon strengthened its pledge to participate in the Lifeline program for several years as a condition for the Commission's approval of the transaction. If approved, the Verizon/TracFone merger likely would make the wireless market more competitive. And there appears to be no drawbacks because the deal would not result in the loss of a facilities-based provider.  

Verizon first applied to the FCC for consent to acquire TracFone on September 30, 2020. But the parties have been left hanging during the Commission's slow-motion review process. The proposed merger is not a hard call, and there is no good reason for the Commission to further delay its decision.

My blog post from August 17 of this year called attention to Verizon's pledge to continue providing low-income consumers with service through the Lifeline program after its acquisition of TracFone is approved. Verizon's ex parte from November 18 actually expanded on that pledge by offering to participate in the Lifeline program for at least seven years instead of three years. Among other proposed commitments, Verizon will continue existing TracFone rate plans for at least three years after the close of the deal. And for TracFone subscribers who are required to transition to Verizon's Network, Verizon will offer them devices with comparable functionality or SIM card replacements at no cost. 

 

Verizon is a facilities-based wireless service provider, and TracFone is a popular pre-paid mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) that relies on other providers' facilities. Thus, the merger would not cause any U.S. wireless consumer to lose a choice among facilities-based providers. Instead, by carrying wireless traffic for TracFone's pre-paid service on Verizon's network, the merger likely would save costs and make Verizon a stronger competitor with AT&T, T-Mobile, and other wireless providers that cater to the pre-paid market segment. 

 

In all, the public benefits of Verizon/TracFone clearly appear to outweigh any potential downsides. It is past time for the FCC to conclude its review and vote on the merger.  

Verizon/TracFone Merger Now Has a Clearer Path to FCC Approval

Pending before the FCC is Verizon's proposed acquisition of TracFone, a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) that had 21 million subscribers at the end of 2020. MVNOs aren't facilities-based providers. Rather, they purchase wireless network on a wholesale basis from facilities-based providers like AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon and then they resell those services to consumers. Prepaid wireless service offerings by MVNOs have been especially popular with cost-conscious consumers. 

On August 13, I was quoted in Communications Daily in response to news that many prior opponents of Verizon/TracFone are now supportive of the merger because of pledges Verizon has made to provide continuing services with the Lifeline program. Leaving aside the issue of whether those pledges ought to have been necessary or the merits of those pledges, it safe to conclude that the Verizon/TracFone merger would result in economic efficiencies because an acquired TracFone would save on costs of obtaining wireless network services at wholesale. And since the Verizon/TracFone merger would not result in the loss of a facilities-based provider, the FCC's approval of the merger ought to be a foregone conclusion.  Moreover, as I was quoted in saying in CommDaily: "A timely and straightforward FCC decision on Verizon/Tracfone likely would make any state PUC reviews go more smoothly, given that state regulatory assertions of authority over wireless mergers already are on thin legal ground in light of Section 332 of the Communications Act."

Cable Mobile Wireless MVNOs: 6.5 Million Subscribers and Counting

Over the last few years, Free State Foundation scholars have taken note of the potential competition in the mobile wireless market from entrant cable providers, including Comcast's Xfinity Mobile and Charter Communications' Spectrum Mobile. These cable mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) combine their broadband network capacity and mobile hotspots with leased spectrum. For a helpful summary of the latest reported numbers, see the July 30 article by Diana Goovaerts in FierceWireless titled "Cable MVNOs add 550,000 wireless subs in Q2." According to the article, cable providers now have a combined total of 6.5 million mobile wireless subscribers. At the end of the first quarter of 2020, there were about 2.5 million combined subscribers. And at the end of the second quarter of 2019, there were about 2.1 million. These cable wireless MVNOs now offer 5G services. At some point, cable wireless MVNOs may be offloading mobile traffic onto their own licensed spectrum in select areas, thereby saving spectrum leasing costs. Expect to hear more about competitive cable MVNOs in the time ahead. 

Cable Wireless Subscribership Continues to Grow

During the first quarter of 2020, Comcast's Xfinity Mobile added 216,000 new wireless subscribers for a total of nearly 2.3 million. Charter Communications' Spectrum Mobile added 290,000 new subscribers for 1.4 million total. Those increases in subscribers compared to early 2019 provide further evidence of the competitiveness of cable hybrid Wi-Fi/Cellular mobile wireless services. Unlike mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) that are pure resellers of services provided through facilities-based cellular wireless providers, Comcast and Charter use their own facilities to transmit offloaded voice and data traffic. The continuing growth of these cable hybrid Wi-Fi/Cellular mobile services is worth watching here in 2020. 

Cable Wireless Service Entrants Poised to Increase Market's Competitiveness

Yesterday, Free State Foundation President Randolph May and I filed public comments with the U.S. Department of Justice regarding its proposed settlement for the T-Mobile/Sprint merger. Our comments addressed the dynamic communications market context of the proposed merger, including existing and potential competition to wireless carriers: 

Wireless market entry by Comcast and Charter Communications using hybrid Wi- Fi/cellular mobile wireless networks further diminish the likelihood of significant price increases or other anti-competitive conduct post-merger. Traditional cable operators are established providers of bundled voice, video, and data services. They are well suited to provide competitive mobile wireless services by leveraging their existing broadband network capacity and nationwide deployment of Wi-Fi hotspots and leasing network capacity for out-of-area voice and data transmission. As of the second quarter of 2019, Xfinity Mobile reportedly served 1.6 million subscribers and Spectrum Mobile reportedly served 518,000 subscribers. Those subscriber numbers are widely expected to increase. 

Close attention ought to be paid to future subscriber numbers for both cable wireless entrants. But there are other indications that these new entrants will further increase the market's competitiveness for mobile wireless services. According to reports, Xfinity Mobile and Spectrum Mobile are both increasing mobile data traffic offloads from leased Verizon network capacity onto their cable Wi-Fi networks. This competitive strategy reduces their lease payments. Also, both Xfinity Mobile and Spectrum Mobile reportedly have plans in the works to offer 5G wireless network services in future. And the largest multi-regional wireless carrier has reportedly acknowledged publicly competitive pressures by cable wireless entrants. 

(H/T to LightReading's Mike Dano for his incisive reporting and analysis.) 

Wireless Market Entrants Gaining Subscribers in First Half of 2019

In public comments by the Free State Foundation in the T-Mobile/Sprint merger proceeding, FSF President Randolph May and I explained that "recent wireless market entry by Comcast and Charter and potential entry from other entities [] provides choices for consumers as well as competitive checks against anticompetitive conduct in the market." Our comments continued:

Comcast launched its Xfinity Mobile service in April 2017. The service for mobile wireless voice calling, texting, and mobile data relies on Comcast’s network capacity – including 18 million Xfinity Wi-Fi hot spots – in combination with network capacity leased from Verizon Wireless for out-of-area voice and data transmission. Xfinity Mobile enrolled 577,000 subscribers through the first quarter of 2018. Analysts have predicted new subscriber numbers will continue climbing. It is reported, for instance, that New Street Research expects Comcast’s new enrollments to sharply increase during the second half of 2018 and that Xfinity Mobile subscribership could reach 2 million connections within the near future. Meanwhile, Charter has announced the introduction of a similar hybrid Wi-Fi/cellular mobile wireless service called Spectrum Mobile. 

On July 25, 2019, Comcast reported that its Xfinity Mobile service had nearly 1.6 million wireless subscriber lines at the end of the second quarter of this year.  And on July 26, Charter reported significant subscriber growth during the second quarter of this year, with Charter serving 518,000 mobile lines by the quarter's end. These subscriber numbers point to both the present reality and potential for cable hybrid Wi-Fi/Cellular mobile wireless services to provide consumers with competitive service choices.