Multichannel News

The slowdown in cable broadband subscriber additions may be even slower than anticipated after executives at two of the top three publicly traded cable companies -- Comcast and Altice USA -- hinted that customer growth is trending at an even more decelerated pace than expected. Comcast Cable CEO Dave Watson said he expected to end 2021 with 1.3 million additional broadband subscribers.

Cable broadband provider Charter told the Federal Communications Commission that discriminatory access to utility poles threatens the ability of broadband providers to close the digital divide, one of the Biden Administration's goals and one it has promised the new infrastructure bill's broadband subsidy billions will make a reality.

Just weeks after Charter Communications slashed prices for its Spectrum Mobile offering to $29.99 per month, chairman and CEO Tom Rutledge said charges for wireless cable offerings could drop further as the cost to provide service continues to decline. “I think the mobile opportunity is very similar to the wireline opportunity that existed 15 years ago,” Rutledge said. “[Mobile]'s got its own complexities, but the opportunity is there to create value for consumers. Consumers actually save money and we make money. That’s a pretty attractive business model that is available to us.

Cable One has purchased Cable America Missouri, a small broadband and cable operator with about 14,000 customers in rural areas in the central part of the state, for about $113 million in cash. Cable One CEO Julie Laulis said the Cable America properties are close to markets the company purchased in 2019 with its buy of Fidelity Communications. “Due to its adjacency to our Fidelity markets as well as alignment with culture, growth and competitive profile, we expect Cable America to be an excellent fit to our growing family of brands,” Laulis said.

Diversity groups urged the Federal Communications Commission to start now to bake equity into 6G wireless. In a November 8 letter to FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel, the groups, led by Multicultural Media, Telecom & Internet Council (MMTC) and including Rainbow PUSH, the NAACP and the National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters, asked that the FCC take these five steps to ensure the delivery of affordable and accessible services to communities of color: