Study: Loss of Affordable Connectivity Program would be 'barely material' for Comcast

New Street Research took a deeper dive into the risks faced by wireline broadband operators if the government fails to refund the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) and it were to be shut down this spring. The study confirms that Charter Communications faces the greatest risk—by far. Charter's peers face much less financial exposure if a chunk of those ACP recipients, which have been getting a $30 subsidy each month, end up disconnecting or taking their business elsewhere. The bottom line from an earnings standpoint: "The loss of ACP is barely material for Comcast and not material for Altice [USA], Frontier, Lumen, and others," New Street Research analyst Jonathan Chaplin explained in a new report that followed up his recent Charter-focused study of the ACP issue.