Charter Communications’ Spectrum Mobile brand is doing a heavy ad blitz around its new bundle, called “Spectrum One,” which offers internet, advanced Wi-Fi, and a single mobile line for $49.99/month for 12 months.
The cable company bills it as “the finest Spectrum value yet,” noting on its website that these services would cost $84.98 per month if purchased separately. BestMVNO previously reported on the new package, which promised internet speeds of 300 Mbps.
It’s another salvo in their battle with mobile operators, as cable companies progressively enter the mobile industry and mobile carriers like T-Mobile and Verizon try to entice cable customers with fixed wireless access (FWA) home internet deals.
According to Jeff Moore, principal of Wave7 Research, it’s a perfect example of the wireless/wireline convergence that’s unfolding as a telecom megatrend.
“Charter is all in,” he tweeted on Monday. “Massive outbreak of TV and radio advertising launched 10/4.”
On October 4, the company launched three TV commercials to promote its new Spectrum One bundle and they’ve already aired 2,600 times so far, according to Moore.
“To me, this is more of an internet offer than it is a mobile offer, but obviously, this is bundling convergence at its finest,” he told Fierce, noting he’s been following the convergence for a while, with cable companies jumping into wireless and wireless carriers getting into territory traditionally served by cable.
At $49.99/month for the first 12 months, “it is a killer offer,” said Jeff Moore of Wave7 Research. “My question is what happens after the first 12 months.”
“It’s a great deal,” he says, at $49.99 per month for the first 12 months. “My concern is what happens beyond the first year.”
A Charter spokeswoman was not immediately available to explain what happens after 12 months, but the standard price takes effect once the promotion period finishes, according to Charter’s website.
Spectrum price has also been changed, according to BestMVNO. Customers, for example, may now buy Spectrum Mobile’s base unlimited plan with 20 GB of data (before throttling) for $29.99/line, down from $45 for the first line or $29.99 with two or more lines previously.
Charter has long maintained that its Spectrum Mobile brand provides higher overall speeds than any other mobile service in its area, which seems unusual given that Charter uses Verizon’s network under an MVNO arrangement. But Charter says its own Wi-Fi network makes all the difference.
Comcast, another cable operator, claims that its Xfinity Mobile brand is the fastest overall mobile service in Comcast service areas, citing third-party statistics from Ookla. Comcast also uses Verizon’s network as part of its MVNO agreement but claims that more than 80% of Xfinity Mobile customers use Wi-Fi.
According to the business, Comcast’s combination of cellular and Wi-Fi enabled Xfinity Mobile to achieve median download speeds in the area of 200 Mbps during the second quarter of 2022, as well as significant savings on wireless expenses.