Charter Communications, which operates Spectrum, has a new customer challenge on its hands after its acquisition of Cox Communications.
Charter closed on this $34.5 billion acquisition in August after it was first announced in May 2025. The combined companies have created a cable giant that serves over 37 million customers across 45 states.
Within a year, Charter Communications will change its name to Cox Communications, but will continue to operate as Spectrum across all markets. Charter CEO Chris Winfrey said in an August press release that the acquisition will help Spectrum navigate a market that “has changed considerably over the past decade.”
“With expanded scale, we are better positioned to compete and continue investment in our products and service, tools and platforms, and to further the capability and reach of our Spectrum Fiber Broadband Network,” said Winfrey.
Spectrum has a new challenge as Cox loses broadband customers
Charter plans to expand its Spectrum pricing and packaging into Cox markets; however, it has to navigate a customer-loss problem that is worse than expected.
New Street Research revealed in a recent analysis that Cox lost 103,000 broadband customers in the second quarter of 2026, up from a loss of 84,000 in the first quarter and a loss of 76,000 a year ago, according to a Light Reading report.
While Charter lost 172,000 broadband customers in the second quarter and 120,000 in the first, it is a much larger company than Cox.
Cox’s broadband base declined 5.8% year over year in the second quarter, compared with a 1.8% decrease for legacy Charter. New Street Research analyst Vikash Harlalka said in the analysis that the amount of Cox’s losses came as a surprise.
Read more: Starlink’s average bill now undercuts Spectrum’s by about $1
“The subscriber metrics (at Cox) aren’t pretty, but we all knew that,” wrote Harlalka. “Broadband subscriber losses are slightly higher than we expected. The y/y change in Cox’s broadband subscriber base is nearly 3x legacy Charter.”
Harlalka said these losses make sense, as Cox has a higher average broadband revenue per user (ARPU) than Charter. He said that broadband ARPU at Cox has declined to about $86 in recent quarters, while Charter’s ARPU, which has been increasing, was in the $68 to $70 range over the same period.
Harlalka said that “Charter can teach Cox some new tricks.” However, Charter Chief Operating Officer Nick Jeffery, who previously headed a turnaround effort at Frontier Communications, “has his work cut out” for him.
“Given his [Jeffery’s] track record at Frontier, we would be surprised if he doesn’t have at least some impact on these trends” in the former Cox markets, wrote Harlalka.
Shortly after becoming Charter COO on Sept. 1, Jeffery has already been making significant organizational changes, including the upcoming departures of several Spectrum executives.
In a memo sent to employees on Oct. 12, he announced a “simpler, flatter, operating structure,” which he said will help Spectrum “move faster with fewer layers, and to focus on our two biggest priorities – returning to core Internet growth and improving customer service,” according to a separate Light Reading report.
Cox and Spectrum face a tougher fight for broadband customers
Cox and Spectrum are struggling to retain internet customers as consumers nationwide become less tolerant of high broadband prices.
According to a PCMag survey in August, nearly half of Americans (47%) reported that their monthly internet bills have risen over the previous 12 months.
Their bills have climbed by an average of $16.58 per month, amounting to a nearly $200 year-over-year increase. About 11% of those surveyed saw their internet bills spike by more than $30 per month.
The survey also found that 36% were dissatisfied with their internet service and are considering switching providers.
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Wireless carriers have become major competitors in the broadband industry as their fixed wireless and fiber internet services are gaining traction among consumers. These companies have also been offering bundled wireless internet and wireless services, which are contributing to this trend.
In the second quarter of 2026, T-Mobile reportedly added about 520,000 broadband customers, according to data from research and consulting firm Recon Analytics.
Meanwhile, AT&T revealed in its second-quarter earnings report that it added 646,000 internet customers. Verizon reported that it gained about 348,000 during the quarter.
SpaceX’s Starlink, which offers consumers satellite internet service at prices between $55 and $130 per month, is also becoming a growing threat in the broadband market. In May, New Street Research found that Starlink has about 2.7 million broadband customers in the U.S., according to a report from Broadband Breakfast.
Jeff Moore, a principal of Wave7 Research, said in a RCR Wireless News report in May that “the U.S. broadband duopoly of cable and telcos is fading as fixed wireless, Starlink, WISPs (wireless internet service providers), and fiber overbuilders expand rapidly.”
“Increased competition from carriers and alternative providers is giving consumers more choices, wider availability, easier setup, and lower prices,” said Moore.
Related: Spectrum hits a snag as it works to curb internet customer exodus
