Things are getting tight for US telecom network operators

Slowing growth in the market for telecommunications services appears to be putting additional pressure on network operators in the US. Mergers and acquisitions are on the rise. Layoffs appear to be accelerating. Some US government subsidies are coming to an end. At least, that's one of the takeaways from recent first quarter earnings reports from the likes of Charter Communications, T-Mobile, Comcast, and Verizon. "The quarter is proving that Cable and Wireless are in the throes of market maturity, both facing a smaller pool with churn at historically low levels," wrote the financial analysts at TD Cowen in a recent note to investors. According to the financial analysts at TD Cowen, big cable companies like Charter and Comcast collectively lost 186,000 customers in the first quarter, ahead of their estimates of 141,000. Hovering over this is the apparent end of the US government's Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). It's unclear how that shifting subsidy landscape will affect a US broadband market that's showing signs of slowing.