Wireless Phone Giants Are Stealing Internet Customers From Cable

(Bloomberg) -- A new generation of high-speed radio frequencies is allowing phone companies to grab a larger share of home internet subscriptions from cable TV operators.

Of the 3.7 million new broadband customers signed up by the five biggest cable and telephone companies last year, 22% went to wireless connections, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

T-Mobile US Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc. grabbed 819,000 subscribers, a significant bite out of the broadband market. Their weapon, new fixed wireless connections to the home using 5G frequencies. AT&T Inc. doesn't break out its wireless internet customer numbers and its business is still small. 

Comcast Corp. and Charter Communications Inc., on the other hand, saw the number of new broadband subscribers they signed up fall by 40%. While the slowdown was expected, given the surge of people who geared up their home networks to ride out the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, the tallies from the cable giants were lower than Wall Street expected. 

“It's hard to claim that 5G home broadband is not having an impact on the cable companies when comparing the net subscriber additions,” said Walt Piecyk, an analyst with LightShed Partners LLC. “The math speaks for itself.”

The war for customers is taking many forms. AT&T, for example, recently introduced what it said was the industry's fastest residential internet service with fiber optic cables to the home. Comcast and Charter, meanwhile, continue to sign up wireless phone customers.

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