The two largest cable MVNOs in the U.S., Spectrum Mobile and Xfinity Mobile, have seen significant improvements in network performance over the past two years.
Customers of both services experienced download speeds increasing by more than 100 Mbps, largely due to Wi-Fi offloading through Spectrum Mobile’s Speed Boost and Xfinity Mobile’s WiFi Boost. Charter and Comcast began sharing Wi-Fi hotspot access in 2023, offering near-nationwide population coverage, with Charter leveraging over 25 million Wi-Fi hotspots and Comcast managing over 23 million, Ookla report said.
Spectrum Mobile customers experienced a consistent rise in median download speeds, doubling from 84.35 Mbps to 188.63 Mbps. Xfinity Mobile users saw their speeds increase over 2.5 times from 66.60 Mbps to 170.39 Mbps in the same period. The rollout of WiFi Boost in April 2024 provided speeds up to 1 Gbps, narrowing the performance gap between the two MVNOs.
Verizon, the host network for both MVNOs, also saw a rise in its nationwide median download speeds, increasing from 66.81 Mbps to 97.45 Mbps, driven by C-Band spectrum deployment. Hardware advancements, such as Comcast’s 6E-capable xFi Advanced Gateway and ongoing upgrades to DOCSIS 4.0, have bolstered these performance gains, with Comcast now providing DOCSIS 4.0 to parts of 10 markets.
Looking ahead, Comcast’s XB10 gateway, launching in 2025, will feature WiFi 7 and DOCSIS 4.0, offering multi-gigabit symmetrical speeds and AI-powered consistency for up to 300 connected devices.
These advancements reflect a broader industry trend toward network convergence, combining mobile and Wi-Fi capabilities to deliver superior customer experiences. Comcast’s focus on bundling mobile and broadband services, with 90 percent of Xfinity Mobile smartphone traffic traveling over its Wi-Fi network, underscores the importance of this approach in driving customer satisfaction.
Baburajan Kizhakedath
