Cable must fight inertia to gain wireless subscribers

Cable companies Charter and Comcast have been wooing subscribers to their mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) services. But they can’t convince all their internet customers to include wireless in their plans. The stumbling block seems to be inertia. According to a new survey of 1,000 respondents conducted on April 8, 2024 by the analysts at TD Cowen, those holding out on cable mobile are primarily doing so because they like their current wireless provider. The survey asked Comcast and Charter subscribers “why haven’t you subscribed to the mobile bundle with Xfinity or Spectrum?” Excluding respondents who already subscribe to cable mobile, the most common response for Charter subs (31%) and for Comcast subs (53%) was, “I’m happy with the offer from my current wireless provider.” TD Cowen determined that there’s still plenty of opportunity for Charter and Comcast to convince about 7.5 million more subscribers to switch to their wireless services. “With additional marketing and compelling promos, we believe the cable providers still have many years of runway remaining in wireless,” they wrote.