Comcast President: ‘We know how to compete against fiber’

As fiber deployments grow, Comcast President Mike Cavanaugh thinks the company is well-positioned to handle the competition. “We’re very focused on the key competitor over the long term being fiber,” Cavanaugh said “The good news is we’ve competed against fiber for 20 years, we know how to compete against [it].” What’s driving the current competitive landscape, Cavanaugh went on to say, is “low move activity” and “the entry of fixed wireless.” He noted it’s difficult to say “which one is more significant.” Cavanaugh predicts fixed wireless access (FWA) will “run for a while,” but said Comcast believes FWA providers are mainly targeting the lower end of the market, “serving a purpose for folks that can live with a product that has its characteristics.” That’s not to say FWA won’t have a permanent fixture in the broadband market in the future. But Cavanaugh thinks “at some point…the excess capacity that’s being used up to provide it as a service will start to tap out.”