Comcast wants Internet users to pay more because customer growth has stalled - Ars Technica

Enlarge / A Comcast Xfinity work van successful Sunnyvale, California, successful November 2018.

Getty Images | Sundry Photography

Comcast has a problem—it isn't signing up galore caller broadband customers. But Comcast besides has a solution—get much wealth from existing subscribers.

Comcast failed to add immoderate broadband customers successful Q2 2022, holding dependable astatine 32,163,000 residential and concern Internet customers combined. In its Q3 earnings report released yesterday, Comcast said it gained lone 14,000 broadband users successful the latest quarter. Comcast besides mislaid 561,000 video customers and 316,000 VoIP telephone customers.

That's wherefore Comcast executives focused connected ARPU (average gross per user) successful an earnings telephone yesterday. With caller customers fewer and acold between, Comcast is aiming for maturation successful the mean magnitude each existing lawsuit pays.

"We expect ARPU maturation volition proceed to beryllium the superior operator of our residential broadband gross maturation successful the adjacent term," Comcast President and CFO Michael Cavanagh said.

Comcast could get much customers by expanding into caller territory oregon by connecting homes successful neighborhoods wherever immoderate radical are stuck without broadband adjacent though their neighbors person Comcast Internet service. But Comcast seems contented to instrumentality with its existent territory and often refuses to supply caller hookups unless homeowners pay tens of thousands of dollars upfront—or adjacent $210,000, arsenic described successful 1 of our recent stories.

CEO doesn't expect overmuch subscriber growth

Comcast CEO Brian Roberts said the nation's largest cablegram institution is "still successful a challenging situation successful presumption of depressed determination enactment and accrued contention from caller entrants." Robert said determination are 4 superior drivers of maturation successful Comcast's cablegram division: "residential broadband units, residential broadband ARPU, wireless, and concern services."

"While we don't expect residential broadband units to beryllium a important operator for now, we expect to support steadfast maturation successful the different three, starring to continued beardown fiscal show astatine cablegram for the foreseeable future," Roberts said. Cavanagh said that "broadband gross accrued 5.7 percent driven by maturation successful ARPU and successful our lawsuit basal compared to past year. Broadband ARPU accrued 3.7 percent twelvemonth implicit year, accordant with the maturation complaint successful the 2nd quarter."

Comcast besides discussed ARPU maturation successful its net telephone three months ago, suggesting that terms increases helped boost per-user gross successful Q2. "In broadband alone, we had truly steadfast ARPU growth, 3.6 percent, fractional being rate-driven, the different fractional conscionable however we negociate tier mix," Comcast cablegram part CEO David Watson said astatine the time.

Meanwhile, Roberts emphasized yesterday that Comcast is "returning a important magnitude of superior to our shareholders. We wage astir $5 cardinal successful dividends per year, and we bought backmost $9.5 cardinal of our shares year-to-date done the 3rd quarter."

Broadband revenue

Broadband revenue was $6.135 cardinal during the three-month period. That amounts to astir $63.55 monthly per subscriber, but includes some concern and residential accounts. The Q3 2022 broadband gross is up from $6.107 cardinal successful Q2 2022, and up from $5.8 cardinal since Q3 2021.

Comcast has aggregate ways of getting much wealth from existing subscribers. That includes selling mobile plans—Comcast added 333,000 wireless lines successful the quarter, hitting 4.95 cardinal wireless lines successful total. Wireless gross accrued 30.8 percent, reaching $789 million. Comcast besides sells location information services.

But the Roberts and Cavanagh statements referred specifically to "broadband ARPU," suggesting they privation to support raising broadband bills. That could see increases to basal monthly rates, boosts to fees that rise the outgo supra advertised prices, oregon requiring subscribers to acquisition the $25-per-month xFi Complete add-on successful bid to get unlimited information and higher upload speeds.