Cable Controlled 75% of U.S. Mobile Growth in Q1, Is Exploiting Convergence Advantage Over Wireless, Analyst Says

Cable operators controlled more than 75 percent of U.S. net additions for wireless customers in the first quarter, according to a new tally published by equity analyst Craig Moffett. Simply put, cable operators are able to bundle discounted bundles of fast, reliable wireline home broadband and mobile that are undercutting the offerings of wireless giants. “Cable’s success owes to a very clear advantage,” Moffett wrote in a Thursday morning report. “Cable can offer its bundle everywhere; every cable customer—and indeed, every customer in a Charter or Comcast market—can get the same bundle at the same price.“That's not true for the TelCos,” he added. The wireline footprints of wireless companies including T-Mobile, AT&T and Verizon “simply don't support a converged offering.” The wireless giants “aren’t even in the ballpark of having a national offering,” Moffett also noted. Consider that AT&T, the closest to that benchmark among the trio, currently has fiber available in only 12 percent of households.