In the fourth quarter 2023 Comcast lost 34,000 domestic broadband subscribers, its biggest quarterly broadband loss in 2023. Broadband revenue on the other hand rose nearly 4% during that period.
Edward Jones analyst David Heger commented that Comcast’s internet subscriber losses were “better than expected” and the operator “continues to deliver steady growth across its cable operations despite increased competition for consumer internet services.”
Comcast ended full-year 2023 with 66,000 broadband net losses. Still, President Mike Cavanagh noted the company’s domestic broadband business “remains strong.” Comcast kept its “very large and healthy base of subscribers flat” while growing residential average revenue per user (ARPU) by 3.9%.
“While the competitive environment is likely to remain at these levels for a period of time, broadband is still a very large, healthy and profitable market,” he said on the earnings call. “And the consumption trends that we’re seeing are encouraging for the future.”
Comcast execs took some time to address the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), the government’s $30 per month internet subsidy that’s at risk of shutting down unless Congress approves more funding.
The operator has 1.4 million customers that have benefitted from ACP, according to Comcast Cable CEO Dave Watson.
“We feel good about the credentials of these customers,” he said. “Most of [them] were already our customers prior to the ACP.”
Although Comcast hopes the program will get more funding, Cavanagh noted “we have already begun to communicate with ACP participants and will provide a range of options” if funding is discontinued, such as the $9.99 per month Xfinity Internet Essentials plan.
In terms of passings, Comcast last year added 1.1 million homes and businesses to its footprint, closing 2023 with 62.5 million passings.
Comcast in the fall debuted DOCSIS 4.0 internet plans to select areas of Colorado Springs, Atlanta and Philadelphia. It plans to launch those plans in more markets in 2024, though it has yet to announce which ones.
The company said it completed mid-split upgrades to 35% of its footprint in 2023 – a key part in the transition to DOCSIS 4.0. Traditionally, operators have used an upstream band of 5 MHz to 42 MHz. A mid-split configuration would bump up that range to 85 MHz.
Metrics
Consolidated revenue of $31.3 billion was up 2.3% from $30.5 billion in the year-ago quarter. Total revenue for full-year 2023 came to around $122 billion.
Net income of $3.2 billion increased from $2.9 billion in Q4 2022.