Charter Loses 60,000 Internet Subs in Q1

WASHINGTON, April 25, 2025 – Charter Communications lost 60,000 internet subscribers in the first quarter of 2025, continuing a trend of stagnation, but showing improvement over the 72,000 lost in the same period the year prior. Executives said wildfires in California were responsible for roughly 9,000 of those disconnects.

Despite the slowdown, the company continues upgrading its 950,000-mile network to support symmetrical, multi-gigabit internet speeds using a “high-split” DOCSIS 4.0 architecture, which it says will enable efficient upgrades across its entire footprint at lower costs.

“The high split in DOCSIS 4.0 upgrade effectively opens up to one gigahertz of spectrum [capacity], [per each upgraded area] across our 950,000-mile footprint,” CEO Chris Winfrey said during the company’s first-quarter earnings call Friday.

“That expansion enables up to 10 Gigabit per second (Gbps) speeds to each premise, and can also power small cells for unlicensed and shared license spectrum nearly everywhere,” Winfrey said.

In January 2025, Charter launched its 2x1 Gbps service in two markets. The service provides 2 Gbps download * 1 Gbps upload internet speeds – delivered over cable coaxial lines upgraded with DOCSIS 4.0 technology. Relatedly, the company said it has now launched symmetrical service in eight markets total, but did not specify which ones in its earnings release.

Charter also added 89,000 subsidized rural broadband passings in Q1, bringing on 39,000 new rural customers and setting the stage for what the company called its largest rural construction year yet.

“We ended the quarter with 902,000 subsidized rural passings… and we expect 450,000 more in 2025 — our biggest year so far,” said Chief Financial OfficerJessica Fischer.

Company execs pointed to growth in other areas as evidence that its bundling and pricing strategies were working. The company added 514,000 new mobile lines, beating the Visible Alpha estimate of an increase of 477,410, and now counts 10.4 million total mobile customers. Mobile service revenue jumped 33.5% year-over-year to $914 million.

Charter also said losses in its video business were beginning to slow, with 181,000 subscribers lost in Q1 compared to more than 400,000 in Q1 2024. The company credited its “Seamless Entertainment” push, which bundles apps like Disney+, Max, and Paramount+ with its video service.

The company also cited operational gains from machine learning and AI, noting a 15% drop in billing and repair calls and a 6% decline in truck rolls.

Charter reported $13.74 billion in revenue, slightly ahead of analyst estimates of $13.68 billion. Free cash flow soared to $1.6 billion, up from $358 million in Q1 2024, driven by lower capital expenditures, reduced interest payments, and higher EBITDA.

Charter’s first quarter earnings report sent shares up more than 9% in early trading Friday, as investors welcomed the improved cash generation and signs of stabilization in broadband and video.

Charter’s broadband losses were modest compared to rival Comcast, which shed 199,000 internet subscribers in the same quarter amid intensifying industry competition.