Key Points:
- Comcast and Charter will use T-Mobile’s 4G and 5G networks to power a new business wireless offering.
- The offering will be available in 2026 under the Comcast Business Mobile and Spectrum Mobile for Business brands.
- The switch to T-Mobile for business services is notable given the existing residential partnership with Verizon.
- It’s unclear why T-Mobile was chosen, but it may be related to recent critical remarks by a Verizon executive, who claimed cable-based wireless had “peaked” and noted churn.
Comcast and Charter will debut new wireless offerings next year that leverage T-Mobile’s network, the companies said on Tuesday.
The new services will be available to business and enterprise customers, and will use leased access to T-Mobile’s 4G LTE and 5G wireless networks. Comcast will offer wireless service under the Comcast Business Mobile brand, while Charter will launch its service as Spectrum Mobile for Business.
Both telecoms currently offer residential wireless service that utilizes Verizon’s 4G LTE and 5G networks under the Spectrum Mobile and Xfinity Mobile name. The companies typically require residential customers have access to broadband service as a condition of buying lines of service on Spectrum Mobile and Xfinity Mobile.
The same will be true next year when Comcast and Charter introduce their business-focused wireless offerings. It isn’t clear why Comcast and Charter made the announcement together — the two companies operate a streaming tech-focused joint venture called Xumo, but it doesn’t appear to be part of the T-Mobile deal.
Also unclear is how T-Mobile’s network was picked over Verizon’s to serve as the foundation of Comcast and Charter’s forthcoming business wireless service, though the companies may have been rankled by a Verizon executive’s comments earlier this year.
Speaking at an industry event in May, Verizon’s Chief Revenue Officer Frank Boulben said he felt wireless prepaid offerings from cable operators had “peaked,” and said Verizon had seen a high number of telephone number transfers — known as “port-ins” — from cable offerings to its own postpaid and prepaid services.
“They are probably, even if they don’t disclose it, starting to incur some churn,” Boulben said. “That’s how we can explain that the port ratios are starting to improve.”
Customers who use Spectrum Mobile and Xfinity Wireless encounter the same network reliability and availability on Verizon as those who subscribe to most of Verizon’s prepaid and postpaid plans directly, though Comcast and Charter subscribers typically pay less for unlimited high-speed data when they bundle with their home Internet service.
Still, Verizon’s postpaid plans offers perks that Comcast and Charter don’t, including access to subscription bundles from streaming video providers like Disney, retailers like Walmart and tech firms like Apple and Google. And Verizon’s prepaid service Visible typically offers lower individual line rates compared to Xfinity Mobile and Spectrum Mobile, which offers better multi-line discounts that some customers may not want or use.
Ultimately, Comcast and Charter subscribers who use Xfinity Mobile or Spectrum Mobile get to sample how Verizon’s network works for them. As they shop around for the best deals, Boulben suggests they wind up moving service over to one of Verizon’s owned-and-operated businesses, especially if they are interested in moving their home broadband service over, too.
Businesses tend to be a different kind of consumer: Few business executives have the time to move multiple lines of service over to a new company, and doing so may involve having to purchase new smartphones and other equipment. Once a company picks a telecom for their Internet and wireless needs, they tend to stick with them unless they have a significant and compelling reason to switch away.
Neither Comcast nor Charter offered any insight into how much their business wireless service will cost, or what the savings will be on multiple lines of service. Nor did they say whether customers who sign up for their future business wireless plans will enjoy the same high priority access to T-Mobile’s network as T-Mobile’s own customers currently do.
A T-Mobile executive in charge of the company’s products and digital platforms said the arrangement with Charter and Comcast “complements what our T-Mobile for Business group already offers and expands the reach of T-Mobile’s network to even more business customers beyond those we currently serve.”
“This is truly a win-win as Charter and Comcast Business customers are benefitting from T-Mobile’s advanced network and T-Mobile gains incremental value from the unique business segment that our partners serve today with broadband,” T-Mobile’s Chief Product and Digital Officer Omar Tazi said on Tuesday.
