Comcast Chief Brian Roberts Sees Little Threat from Fixed Wireless

Comcast Chairman and CEO Brian Roberts said that despite slowdowns in broadband growth, he sees little threat to the business from new competitors like fixed wireless, adding that rural expansion, offering a competitive product and bundling with mobile should help subscriber additions continue to rise. Roberts said he sees four areas where the company can boost broadband growth: expanding its footprint, competing more aggressively, bundling with other products like wireless and growing its business services reach. Comcast has been expanding its reach to about 1 million more homes per year within its footprint through edge-out programs. This year he expects that expansion to be even greater, given government initiatives to build out unserved and underserved rural areas. “Where it's been uneconomic previously, it will be economic in the future for us to extend our broadband,” Roberts said. “And we're going to compete aggressively to do that.”