D.C. Memo: Publicly Traded ISPs Lost 225,000 Subs in Q3/24

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Q3 Numbers: Publicly traded wireline broadband providers lost about 225,000 subscribers in the third quarter as a group, with Charter Communications saying it would have actually grown subs if the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) had not expired on May 31. "Were it not for the end of the ACP program in June, we would have grown our broadband subscriber base in the quarter," Charter CEO Chris Winfrey said Nov. 1 after reporting a 110,000 sub loss. Comcast also said it would have returned to sub growth without the ACP headwind. AT&T showed a net loss because its fiber adds were less than its DSL/copper disconnections. Consolidated Communications almost had the same issue,  adding 18,469 fiber subs offset by the loss of 13,335 DSL subs. The chart below includes 15 ISPs with listed stocks that together serve 98.6 million broadband subs nationally. Missing are private ISPs, such as Cox Communications, with about 6.5 million subs, and Mediacom Communications, with about 1.3 million subs. Meanwhile, Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) providers — mainly T-Mobile, Verizon, and AT&T — added 913,000 subscribers in the third quarter to end with 10.7 million. T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert said the majority of his net adds came from cable ISPs. But where are the others coming from?

Chart of the Day