By Patience Haggin
Cable companies and mobile carriers are in a bitter battle for your home internet bill -- and it is driving prices down.
This spring, major home-internet providers including Verizon, Comcast and T-Mobile launched a flurry of price-lock guarantees, promising steady rates for as long as five years. Charter unveiled a three-year deal last year.
Cable companies have struggled to retain internet subscribers since mobile carriers began offering more affordable 5G fixed-wireless internet service in 2018. Fixed wireless, which relies on cell towers instead of cables, brought competition into markets where cable companies had long enjoyed being the only game in town. Now both types of providers are growing more aggressive to attract -- and keep -- customers.
"The cable companies went from gaining subscribers and raising rates every year to declining subscribers and giving people price locks," said John Hodulik, a UBS analyst. "They're seeing churn rise in their broadband subscriber base. And they're trying to nip that in the bud."
Fixed wireless can sometimes cost half as much as a cable-provided internet plan. Though network congestion and other connectivity issues can be an issue for some users, the lower price point has been luring cable customers away.
T-Mobile, Verizon and AT&T added a combined 3.7 million fixed-wireless customers in 2024. Meanwhile, Comcast's Xfinity and Charter's Spectrum lost more than 900,000 subscribers.
"Our pricing wasn't breaking through in the marketplace," said Steve Croney, chief operating officer for Comcast's connectivity and platforms business. He said the company's five-year price lock, introduced in April, competes well against the telecom companies' offerings.
Frank Boulben, chief revenue officer at Verizon's consumer group, said his company has been trying to address the "pain points" customers have with cable companies, such as price hikes.
The increased competition has driven down the cost of internet service, a welcome break for consumers when prices are rising for many other essential products. The price of home internet service fell 3.1% in May from a year earlier, while the overall consumer-price index rose 2.4%, according to the Labor Department.
Richard Young in Walnut Creek, Calif., used to subscribe to cable and internet provider Astound Broadband but called it "the last straw" when his home internet bill reached just under $100 last year. He switched to T-Mobile in October and took a $50-per-month fixed-wireless plan.
"Astound constantly raised costs and fees to the point it was frustrating," Young said. He had been skeptical that T-Mobile's home internet service would be as stable as his old provider but hasn't had any major issues since switching.
Astound Broadband Chief Executive Jim Holanda said that while he couldn't speak to Young's case specifically, the company offers low-cost packages for customers who use less data, and its price increases often accompany speed increases to maintain the plan's value proposition.
Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile are winning converts at a faster pace than many anticipated, said Jonathan Chaplin, a managing partner at equity research firm New Street Research. Charter agreed to buy Cox last month for $21.9 billion in equity and assume $12 billion of its outstanding debt, in part to acquire scale to better compete with fixed wireless. But fixed-wireless growth can't last indefinitely.
The wireless networks on which they run will eventually hit capacity, limiting how many subscribers they can add. Chaplin estimates the networks can support around 19 million total fixed-wireless subscribers -- which he predicts they will reach in about five years, accounting for planned network expansions that the companies have announced. When that limit is reached, cable companies may regain the upper hand and keep growing their fiber customer base, Chaplin said.
Wireless companies are preparing for that moment, too. AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile have all been investing in fiber-based wired networks via build-outs and acquisitions. AT&T is bringing new customers in with fixed wireless, with the long-term goal to convert them to fiber-based service, said Erin Scarborough, who runs that company's broadband and connectivity initiatives.
Verizon's Boulben said his company would focus on selling fiber service to customers as it becomes available to them.
Write to Patience Haggin at patience.haggin@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 24, 2025 10:00 ET (14:00 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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