GOT COMCAST OR SPECTRUM INTERNET? NOW'S A GREAT TIME TO THREATEN YOU'LL CANCEL

CABLE COMPANIES ARE DESPERATE TO RETAIN THEIR INTERNET CUSTOMERS. TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THEIR INSECURITY AND DEMAND A BETTER DEAL WHILE YOU CAN.

- BY JARED NEWMAN

Last year, Spectrum and Comcast lost 508,000 and 411,000 home internet customers, respectively.

Last week, I secured my lowest price for Spectrum internet in years.

All it took was a call to Spectrum's retention department, which is where you end up after telling the automated system you want to cancel your service. After a mildly tedious conversation with an exceedingly friendly rep, my monthly bill dropped from $68 to $45 per month for the next full year. Not only did I save money, but my speeds increased from 400 Mbps to 500 Mbps.

While I can't guarantee the same results everywhere, in general it's a great time to threaten to cancel cable internet service.

For years, Comcast and Charter (which operates the Spectrum brand) have boasted to shareholders that growth in home internet more than offsets the collapse of cable TV, but now they're losing internet customers to vendors offering faster fiber and cheaper 5G wireless alternatives. They are highly motivated to keep potential defectors on board, so you should take full advantage of their collective insecurity.

WHAT COMPETITION LOOKS LIKE

Last year, Spectrum and Comcast lost 508,000 and 411,000 home internet customers (fave.co/40UI9AR), respectively. The year before, Comcast lost 66,000 (fave.co/40TGBG6), while Spectrum lost 61,000 (fave.co/3TEfnPW). Stock prices for both companies are already below what they were two years ago.

By contrast, fiber and wireless home internet are growing (fave.co/40UI9AR). T-Mobile and Verizon added 1.7 million (fave.co/3lnsFhz) and 1.5 million wireless home internet customers in 2024, respectively, while AT&T added 1 million customers to its fiber service. Both of their stocks are up from two years ago.