Charter Communications' Spectrum lost 119,000 internet subscribers in the latest quarter—a number that would have been unthinkable a decade ago, when cable had a comfortable monopoly on broadband.
The hemorrhaging is accelerating. Cable companies aren't just losing TV subscribers anymore; they're losing internet customers, which was supposed to be their moat against cord-cutting. Turns out when customers hate you and finally get alternatives, they switch.
The reasons are straightforward: fiber is faster and often cheaper. 5G home internet from Verizon and T-Mobile works surprisingly well in many markets. Starlink serves rural areas cable never bothered with. Customers have choices now.
And they're choosing not Spectrum.
Cable companies built their business on geographic monopolies. For years, if you wanted broadband in most neighborhoods, you had one option: the local cable company. They knew it. You knew it. Customer service reflected that reality.
Prices went up. Service quality didn't. Data caps appeared. Installation fees, equipment rental fees, "broadcast TV" fees that somehow applied to internet-only packages—the nickel-and-diming became predictable.
The monopoly era is ending, but not fast enough. Spectrum and other cable ISPs are losing customers quarter after quarter, but they're not really competing on service. They're announcing "major changes," which likely means cosmetic adjustments to retention offers while hoping fiber buildouts slow down.
History suggests they'll spend more energy lobbying to block competition than improving their product. Cable companies have a long record of using municipal franchise agreements and state laws to slow fiber deployments. Why compete when you can regulate your competitors out of existence?
But the alternatives are coming anyway. Fiber economics work—cities want gigabit broadband, and companies like Google Fiber, AT&T Fiber, and smaller regional players are building it. The buildouts are slower than anyone would like, but they're happening.
