Mediacom has completed expansions of its broadband network in five of 20 markets it began work in earlier this year and is already lining up additional projects. However, supply chain issues appear to be lurking just around the corner.
An operator representative told Fierce Mediacom expects to wrap work in “a handful” of additional markets by the end of 2021. Beyond that, it has 20 pending applications for future expansions and plans to file additional applications in “at least two additional states in the coming weeks.”
The operator told Fierce in August it was already working with state and local government agencies in Alabama, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Tennessee and Wisconsin on its expansion plan, with initial work spanning 20 communities. It is using a mix of fiber and fixed wireless technology for the rollouts, with the latter expected to account for 60% of deployments.
Asked whether it might take a page from Shenandoah Telecommunications and pivot to focus more on fiber, the Mediacom representative said it continues “to activate new fixed wireless towers, but we are also being opportunistic in applying for grant dollars to build wireline buildouts where money is being made available.”
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It appears Mediacom could face a few bumps in the road ahead. The operator representative told Fierce it “did a good job of stocking our warehouses during the early part of the pandemic” but acknowledged “there are definitely supply chain delays impacting new orders for fiber, electronics and other materials.” It's not alone: AT&T recently highlighted its own struggles with supply chain issues in its Q3 earnings call.
Metrics
Mediacom is the fifth largest cable operator in the U.S., serving around 1.5 million homes and businesses across 22 states. It posts quarterly performance updates, but since it is a private company does not host earnings calls.
In its latest release, the operator revealed it lost 2,000 high-speed data (HSD) customers in Q3, compared to a gain of 29,000 in Q3 2020. It also lost 21,000 video subscribers and 15,000 phone customers, bringing its total subscriber losses in the quarter to 38,000.
However, Mediacom’s overall revenue rose 3.4%, with HSD sales jumping 14.9% to $274.3 million and business services revenue increasing 2% to $77.5 million. Video revenue dipped 5.4% to $168.1 million while phone revenue fell 5% to $27.9 million and advertising turnover plunged 44.8% to $9.3 million. Mediacom did not provide a figure for net income.