Broadband is behaving more like a true utility, with churn holding near a remarkably low 1% per month for fixed broadband, comparable only to mobile phone providers. Moves remain the top driver of customer loss, followed by the hunt for lower prices and frustrations with service quality, especially among older households, families with children, and higher-income users who are more intolerant of outages. Speed, while important, ranks further down the list of reasons to switch.

At the same time, competitive pressure is intensifying. Fixed wireless access is scaling quickly in both rural and suburban/urban markets, and Starlink's aggressive pricing and rapid growth are reshaping satellite broadband economics ahead of a potential IPO. Fiber leaders like Verizon Fios and Frontier show the lowest churn, and cable operators are leaning on deep bundles to lock in customers for five to 10 years.

As broadband matures, will pricing and service quality outweigh speed as the decisive factors in retention? Can incumbents hold the line against fixed wireless and LEO satellite challengers?

More S&P Global content:

• US Broadband monthly churn hits 1.3%
• Fixed wireless subscribers by state

Featured experts:

• John Fletcher, principal research analyst at S&P Global Market Intelligence Kagan.
• Brian Bacon, research analyst on the Consumer Insights team within S&P Global Market Intelligence Kagan

Credits:

• Host/Author: Mike Reynolds
• Producer/Editor: Sarah James

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