Comcast stokes competitive flames with T-Mobile 5G Home

Comcast is attempting to keep customers from flocking to T-Mobile’s 5G Home internet service with a new web site and ad campaign that claims T-Mobile’s 5G broadband service is inferior to Comcast’s wired broadband.

As first reported by Light Reading, Comcast’s new advertisement claims that T-Mobile’s network speeds degrade during the day because of high use. In addition, Comcast’s web site boasts that its Xfinity broadband service is up to 36 times faster than T-Mobile’s service and it mocks T-Mobile’s 5G services’ speed and performance by saying that the company’s disclaimers indicate the service can be impacted by “weather, the surrounding terrain, use inside a building or moving vehicle.”

Comcast also notes that T-Mobile “plays favorites” because the wireless operator prioritizes some mobile customers over its 5G Home customers and tells customers that they “may notice reduced speeds in comparison to customers with a higher priority during network congestion.”

And it pokes fun of the fact that T-Mobile says that live TV streaming services such as Hulu Live or Sling TV Live are not compatible with its services.

 T-Mobile, meanwhile, is taking Comcast’s ad campaign in stride. “We’ve seen the spot, and we’re flattered. Because of Comcast, millions more people now know they can get home broadband from T-Mobile. And millions across the country can finally drop Big Internet – just like half of our current customers who left Big Cable to join T-Mobile. Because the fact is, T-Mobile Home Internet customers are happier. Our broadband customers give us a Net Promoter score of 47. Xfinity received a negative 14. With 5G Home Internet, Comcast customers across the country finally have another option,” said Mike Katz, chief marketing officer at T-Mobile, in a statement. 

Information on T-Mobile’s web site says that its 5G Home service delivers typical download speeds between 33-182 Mbps and that the service is well-suited for streaming video, surfing the web, working from home and most types of online gaming. It also notes that speeds can vary depending upon location, signal strength, availability and time of day.

This latest Comcast ad campaign is notable because the cable company’s leadership has continually downplayed the threat from FWA services like T-Mobile.  In fact, in March, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts told attendees of an investor conference that FWA was an “inferior product” and likened it to DSL.

However, the company’s 2Q 2022 results showed a growing threat from FWA as Comcast failed to add any broadband customers in the quarter. Nevertheless, Roberts argued that competition from FWA was short-term and limited. At the same time T-Mobile added 560,000 fixed wireless net additions in 2Q bringing its total FWA subscriber base to 1.5 million. T-Mobile has said it expects to serve 7 million to 8 million FWA customers by 2025.

This isn’t the first time the wireless industry and the cable industry have been at cross-hairs over advertising claims. Last December the National Advertising Division recommended that Comcast’s Xfinity Mobile stop advertising plans as “unlimited 5G” and using messaging in which it claimed that it had the “best price” for 5G. This decision came after T-Mobile challenged Comcast’s claims.