cfx_september-2024 - 28

ContinuEd
ConvErgEnCE
Spectrum Mobile Shows
Power of Charter's Network Backbone
By Sara Winegardner
Spectrum Mobile has accumulated 8.8 million mobile lines since launch.
Charter's broadband division may continue
to be the core of its business, but
Spectrum Mobile has proven to be another
shining jewel in its collection of products.
The product soft-launched through
an MVNO deal with Verizon in June 2018,
but its grand opening came with a full
market launch in September of the same
year. Now, nearly six years later, the brand
has exploded. At the end of 2Q24, Charter
served a total of 8.8 million mobile lines,
adding 557,000 residential and SMB mobile
lines during the quarter. In a note after
the earnings call, MoffettNathanson called
the wireless product an " underappreciated
growth engine " not only because of
its strong rise in subscribers, but also because
ARPU growth is only accelerating.
The wins of Spectrum Mobile, along with
Comcast's Xfinity Mobile, have inspired a
new wave of cable operators big and small
to launch their own wireless services
" Our vision and creativity with a principle
of simplicity is really the hallmark
because we had a vision of a reimagined
mobile service, of a trilogy of internet, WiFi
and mobile together, " Charter EVP, Product
Danny Bowman says.
Fundamentally, Bowman sees mobile
and other offerings built off of Charter's
network as extensions of the internet on
different types of devices. The provider
knew it had an incredible WiFi network
and there was a drive to keep building on it
that ultimately culminated in the introduction
of Spectrum Mobile as another way to
connect in and out of the home.
" If you think of convergence from conCharter
is offering customers
previously signed up
for the FCC's Affordable
Connectivity Program a
free Spectrum Unlimited
mobile line for 12 months.
Spectrum Mobile topped the
Full-Service MVNO category
in J.D. Power's 2024 U.S.
Wireless Customer Care
Study-Volume 1. The study
measured overall satisfaction
with a focus on enhanced
digital customer experiences.
28
September 2024
CablefaxTopOps.com
nectivity, WiFi is the center of gravity and it
allowed us to create a very unique, reimagined
mobile service because most of those
bits, 87% in our case, are actually on WiFi, "
Bowman says.
Over the years, the team behind Spectrum
Mobile has innovated to find ways
to improve the customer experience and
take advantage of that converged network
to differentiate itself. But it has also
focused on giving as much value to customers
as possible, introducing Spectrum
One in 2022. Customers receive broadband
speeds of 300 Mbps, Advanced WiFi and
one free line of Unlimited Spectrum Mobile
for $49.99/month for 12 months.
" When we first launched Spectrum One,
some of the earlier feedback from sales
teams was that we have customers saying
this is too good to be true, " Bowman says.
" The offer blew customers away, and we've
had tremendous sales success... to me, it's
another great example of how we reinvented
ourselves as an industry. "
Importantly, when the customers that
signed up in 1Q23 reached their 12-month
anniversary earlier this year, those promotional
roll-offs didn't drive incremental
internet churn. Internet churn rates fell
YOY and Spectrum One drove mobile sales
and longer customer lifetimes. It also gave
Charter a strong product marketing platform.
When Xumo began its rollout in October,
Charter began offering a Xumo Stream
Box for 6 months when customers add
Spectrum TV to their Spectrum One plan.
Charter refuses to rest on its laurels. In
May, the company began offering mobile
contract buyouts up to $2,500 when a
customer switches and purchases at least
three lines with at least one ported line.
And in April, an " Anytime Upgrade " feature
was introduced to allow Spectrum Mobile
Unlimited Plus customers the opportunity
to upgrade their phones as much as they
want, at no cost. For customers concerned
about broken screens, loss or theft, Spectrum
unveiled a Repair and Replacement
plan for just $5/month per device.
" We do things very differently than the
industry does, " Bowman says. " What are
more things we can do in the marketplace
that are different but create a tremendous
amount of value for our customers? "
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