Cable operators will claim 10% of the U.S. wireless market by 2020, New Street Research predicted, stealing most of those customers from the biggest wireless carriers.
T-Mobile and Sprint have increased their share of the U.S. mobile market in recent quarters, New Street analysts observed in a research note this week, even as growth in the industry has slowed to a crawl. And while the market has seen some aggressive promotions, the smaller operators haven’t had to engage in an all-out price war to poach customers from Verizon and AT&T.
The two companies—and perhaps other cable operators—will combine to capture 23 million wireless customers by 2020, New Street said. T-Mobile and Sprint are “relatively insulated” from those newcomers, according to the analysts, and may actually benefit from increased competition. But the nation’s two largest mobile network operators are vulnerable.
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
- The cable operator will market mobile services within its existing footprint rather than launching a nationwide offering, bundling wireless with its existing TV, internet and landline phone services.
- The incumbents may bear even more of the losses given their dominance at the high end of the market where cable companies will be focused.
- Verizon is working to add Yahoo to a portfolio that includes AOL and its own Go90 video offering, while AT&T hopes to acquire Time Warner for $85 billion after pocketing DirecTV last year.
“Comcast will be marketing an offer by the middle of next year; we expect Charter to be a couple of quarters behind,” the analysts wrote.
Original source: http://www.fiercewireless.com/wireless/verizon-at-t-set-to-lose-9m-customers-to-cable-operators-by-2018-new-street-says
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