Charter Communications (NASDAQ: CHTR), the second largest cable company in the country behind Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA), according to Inside Towers Intelligence, has a comprehensive wireless strategy that leverages its extensive cable infrastructure to offer integrated high-speed internet, Wi-Fi, and cellular services. Since 2018, Charter has been functioning as a Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) on the Verizon (NYSE: VZ) network. Operating under the Spectrum brand, the company offers mobile services bundled with its broadband products.
At the end of 2024, Charter’s network passed 56.9 million homes and businesses, with 30.1 million broadband customers across 41 states. Spectrum Mobile served 9.9 million subscribers, on the strength of 2.1 million net adds during the year. Mobile contributed $3.1 billion in revenues, a 37 percent increase from 2023. Despite being the fastest-growing unit, Mobile represented just seven percent of Charter’s residential services revenue in 2024.
The company has been planning to develop its own wireless infrastructure for some time, seeing the value in owner economics rather than continuing to pay Verizon. In 2020, Charter was the third-largest acquirer of 3.5 GHz CBRS licenses in FCC Auction 105, spending $464.3 million on 210 Priority Access Licenses covering 106 counties, securing 19-24 MHz of CBRS spectrum in its wireline footprint. This mid-band spectrum is ideal for 5G due to its balance of coverage and capacity.
With this owned wireless infrastructure, Charter intends to build a hybrid network that offloads traffic from Verizon’s network onto its own assets using CBRS for 5G small cells and unlicensed Wi-Fi for indoor coverage, reducing MVNO costs and improving customer experience.
CBRS PALs have a 10-year term starting from when they are granted, usually after the auction ends and payments are made. Charter was granted its licenses in January 2021, and must meet two key FCC milestones to show “substantial service” on these licenses by the end of year four and meet a final buildout requirement by the end of year 10 for renewal. This means Charter faces a “use it or lose it” deadline in 2025, and is currently in “full deployment” mode, according to CEO Chris Winfrey.
The company is utilizing its cable network for fiber backhaul and power for strand-mounted small cells. These small cells, built by Nokia (NYSE: NOK) and other manufacturers, are installed in specific areas to optimize return on investment by densifying locations that offload Verizon traffic.
In 2021, Charter evaluated 5G small cells in select markets to verify performance and validate the return on investment. It launched its first market in 2023. Currently, Charter reports that “thousands” of CBRS radios are operational in North Carolina, Alabama, and Georgia, with additional markets anticipated by 2025.
Charter also is utilizing unlicensed CBRS General Authorized Access spectrum alongside its PALs, enhancing flexibility and reducing costs where licensed spectrum is not fully utilized. The construction pace is based on ROI. Winfrey described a systematic rollout that is aligned with operational savings and customer satisfaction enhancements, particularly for indoor 5G coverage.
Over the past three years, Charter has incurred an average of $300 million annually in capex for testing and initial CBRS rollouts. As the company enters full deployment mode, this investment could potentially double in subsequent years as the infrastructure expansion progresses, according to Inside Towers Intelligence estimates.
By John Celentano, Inside Towers Business Editor
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