Charter's Spectrum tops 10 million mobile customersCharter's Spectrum tops 10 million mobile customers

Owned by cable operator Charter Communications, Spectrum Mobile launched a virtual provider using Verizon's network in mid-2018. It reached 10 million mobile lines in January, it said, highlighting a rapid growth rate over a six-year period.

It's actually closer to seven years than six, but that's splitting hairs a bit. But while we're being pedantic, the decision to talk about mobile lines rather than mobile customers is its own; the network still belongs to Verizon.

But there's something in that choice of words. With 10 million lines, Spectrum Mobile is now bigger than the company that purports to be the nation's fourth wireless operator. And it's not the only one.

At its latest results announcement Echostar's Dish, which – to an extent – now operates its own network, reported having fewer than 7 million retail mobile customers. 6.98 million, to be precise. Dish's struggles are well documented, but the data is worth repeating: Dish had around 9 million mobile customers when it acquired Boost Mobile in 2020 on the back of the T-Mobile US/Sprint merger, and firmed up its plans to become the fourth facilities-based player in the market using the wealth of spectrum assets it had acquired over a period of many years.

The past five years have brought relentless net customer losses and growing financial troubles. To say Dish is in something of a state would be an understatement.

Meanwhile, its pay TV rivals are quietly amassing credibly large mobile customer bases.

Charter's major cable rival Comcast revealed in October that it had reached 7.5 million mobile lines with its Xfinity brand, plus business accounts and a prepaid offer. It is not growing as quickly as Spectrum Mobile, having launched a year earlier, but it has pulled ahead of Dish.

But this week the limelight belongs to Charter. The operator notes that it is the first US cable operator to reach 10 million customers, attributing its success to the fact that its clients are looking for a reliable mobile service at a sensible price point.

"Spectrum Mobile has differentiated itself with customers with a value proposition that is simple, affordable and unmatched in the mobile industry," said Danny Bowman, Executive Vice President, Product at Charter. "Reaching 10 million mobile lines so quickly is a testament to the overall quality of our product and the trust our customers place in us to deliver a superior converged connectivity experience."

His last point is arguably particularly valid. Less than half of the operator's overall customer base took just one product, according to end-2024 figures; 33.9% took two products and 18.9% three or more, although admittedly that last figure was slightly down on the previous year.

Announcements on the extension of Charter's Gigabit broadband to new communities are coming thick and fast, however, its overall Internet customer base stood at just over 30 million as of the end last year, down by 177,000 in Q4 and by just over half a million over 12 months.

Charter added over half a million mobile customers in the fourth quarter of last year alone, and 2.1 million for the full year, incidentally, which helped it reach its milestone.

That growing mobile customer base is important to Charter, but it needs to keep an eye on the fixed side of the business too to really benefit from the potential customer stickiness. That said, its Internet revenues are still growing. The video business is another matter entirely.