Light Reading Podcasts Cable shows signs of improvement, but is it out of the woods?
Mar 10, 2026
Vikash Harlalka, Director at New Street Research and lead analyst on cable and broadband, walks through recent cable financials and industry trends. He covers Q4 broadband shifts, the role of fixed wireless, pricing and packaging moves, customer perception and NPS gaps, and the limits of large-scale fiber and wireless rollouts. Short-term improvement, long-term challenges remain.
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Cable Needs Broader Industry Growth To Recover
- Industry broadband growth improved from last year's ACP-hit levels but remains below pre-pandemic norms, rising to about 1.8–1.9M net adds annually versus 2.5–2.6M pre-pandemic.
- Fixed wireless strength and ACP distortions drove the recent improvement, but cable needs sustained industry growth plus a slowdown in fixed wireless to really recover.
Two Conditions Required For Cable Recovery
- Cable's recovery requires two things: industry growth returning toward pre-pandemic levels and fixed wireless net adds slowing dramatically.
- If only one occurs (e.g., industry growth without FWA slowing) cable still struggles to regain subscriber momentum.
Fixes Are Right But Brand Change Is Slow
- Cable operators are implementing the right strategies: better pricing and improved customer service, but changes take a long time to shift brand perception.
- Customers quickly defect when alternatives (fiber or fixed wireless) appear, so operational fixes must be sustained to matter.