Cable companies eye mobile to save the bundle

The country's biggest cable companies have been leaning into mobile plans as pay-TV subscriptions plummet and growth from broadband begins to plateau. This matters because cable operators are betting that mobile plans in their bundles will make it harder for consumers to quit their other services. In particular, Cox Communications, a subsidiary of Axios' parent company, launched Cox Mobile, a new service that's available to all of its 5.6 million US internet customers. Cox follows several other big cable companies—including Comcast, Charter and Altice—which launched mobile plans to help offset legacy businesses challenges in 2017, 2018 and 2019, respectively. Overall, fixed broadband businesses have helped cable companies stay afloat as cord-cutting accelerated, but that safety net is beginning to fade as subscriber growth tapers off. The new cable bundle is a rollup of broadband and mobile internet services, with pay-TV as an offering that exists only for those still interested in paying for linear TV.