Charter Communications on Tuesday announced two important new product features for its Spectrum Mobile customers, letting subscribers to its premium "Unlimited Plus" tier upgrade devices at any time during their contract, while also touting a new super-cheap $5-a-month device protection plan.
Anytime Upgrade lets customers trade in their existing mobile device at any time, sans penalty fees, and no matter how far along the subscriber is in terms of paying off the gadget, provided it's working and not water-damaged.
Meanwhile, Spectrum Mobile continues to undercut the wireless incumbents, offering device repair-and-replacement insurance at just $5 a month. That's far lower than incumbent wireless companies including AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile price their device insurance.
Subscribers to Spectrum Mobile's more expensive legacy protection plan can switch to the new, cheaper insurance at any time. (Editor's note: We would have taken the insurance if it was $5 a month instead of $15 back in January when we signed up for Spectrum Mobile.)
Spectrum Mobile ended 2023 with 7.7 million wireless lines in service. Leasing wholesale usage o Verizon's wireless network via an MVNO deal has enabled cable insurgents into the wireless industry, Comcast as well, to practice a little arbitrage, offloading wireless traffic to is own resources, including Wi-Fi, in dense urban areas, while enjoying renters economics in expensive-to-build-out rural parts.
In a note to investors back in November, equity analyst Craig Moffett suggested that these economics could yield margins for Comcast and Charter as high as 85%. These robust margins are allowing Charter to render its mobile customers offers that are hard to compete with for wireless incumbents.
Also read: ‘Cable Wireless Might Ultimately Dominate the U.S. Wireless Market,’ Analyst Declares
“With the launch of Anytime Upgrade, we are providing Spectrum Mobile Unlimited Plus customers with straightforward and flexible access to the latest smartphone technology,” said Danny Bowman, executive VP of product for Charter, in a statement. “We understand the frustration of being locked into a device or contract. This offer, along with the new Spectrum Mobile Repair and Replacement Plan, allows our customers to have the newest devices with reliable protection, so they can maximize their wireless network experience and save money.”
