Charter Communications officially joined the ranks of cable operators to enter the wireless market with the recent introduction of Spectrum Mobile.
The company offered its current internet customers an unlimited Spectrum Mobile data plan for $45 per line or a “by the gig” plan for $14 per gigabit of data each month.
The latter price is slightly above the $12 per gigabit plan offered by Comcast’s Xfinity Mobile service, but both cable giants will offer unlimited plans for $45. Both companies run their wireless services on Verizon MVNOs, and they have agreed to partnerships on wireless research and on backend systems.
Cable operators hope that low-cost wireless service will help retain TV and internet customers in the era of cord-cutting. Wireless industry giants, meanwhile, have pointed to those services as evidence of growing competition in the U.S. market.
Cable rival Altice USA is expected to launch a mobile service next year under a Sprint MVNO, while Cox reached an infrastructure agreement with Sprint early this year.