While Comcast has a massive footprint, T-Mobile and Verizon are making head waves in becoming the company’s top competition. Both T-Mobile and Verizon have developed and deployed fixed wireless access (FWA) 5G hardware to expand their reach across the country, giving Comcast a run for its money regarding keeping customers happy and renewing contracts.
“FWA is a threat to everybody, and that continues to be true,” said the Founder of Recon Analytics Roger Entner last year. Now, out of 12,000 consumers surveyed by Recon Analytics, 18% reported they had never signed up for home broadband as people are opting for FWA services offered through their mobile providers instead. Both T-Mobile and Verizon offer special discounts to members who sign up for both FWA service and a mobile phone plan.
The tides are turning for Comcast, but the company still has the advantage of its large established footprint with 12 million mobile subscribers. As reported by FierceWireless, Verizon added 393,000 FWA net adds to a total of 1.9 million subscribers during the first quarter of 2023. T-Mobile also added a significant number of subscribers during this quarter, bringing in 523,000 net FWA adds. T-Mobile ended the first quarter with 3.2 million FWA members.
According to Roger Entner, “All of them are trying to make their comprehensive product portfolio better.”
Recon Analytics report showed that almost 20% of new FWA customers switched from fiber because it worked about the same and was significantly less expensive. DSL customers are also bouncing to FWA for the same reasons.
Companies like Comcast are trying to maintain their customer base and snag more from FWA companies by offering limited-time-only promotions. Comcast’s new 12-month deal offers internet for $19.99 per month for new customers. T-Mobile and Verizon offer plans starting at $50 per month if you also sign up for auto payments and paperless billing.
But unlike T-Mobile and Verizon, Comcast’s deals come with a one-year contract obligation, which is not enticing to customers who are wary of sticking with one provider for so long.