Comcast CFO scratches his head about ‘irrationally’ low fiber broadband prices

- Comcast is getting hit with competition from fiber, FWA and satellite - It’s rough when some fiber builders are pricing their broadband extremely cheap - Comcast’s stock dropped yesterday after the CFO said its subscriber losses wouldn’t improve this year Comcast CFO Jason Armstrong spoke at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia + Technology Conference 2026 yesterday, and he was immediately asked about broadband competition. The cable company is getting hit with competition from fiber, fixed wireless access (FWA) and satellite. Armstrong gave the standard Comcast answer, saying the company has a wire into the home and “wire wins.” In other words, he doesn’t think most people will disconnect their hybrid-fiber-coaxial (HFC) connectivity from Comcast to switch to FWA or satellite. However, he did concede that FWA was putting pressure on subscriber additions and had already taken more subs that Comcast expected. “Satellite looms out there as a potential threat,” said Armstrong. “We’re not really seeing it yet, but there's no complacency around it. I think we'll see it over time. And in particular, in rural and maybe deep suburban markets, it may be a better option as a competitor than we've faced historically, so that's something we're bracing for.” He said fiber is the long-term competitor. Historically, Comcast saw fiber overbuilds in about 2%-3% of its footprint per year, but that's accelerated in the last couple of years to more like 4% or 5% of its footprint. Armstrong expressed dismay at the business models of some fiber builders. He referred to “irrational competition” from fiber builders who are pricing their connectivity for $30 or $40 for a 1 Gbps service. “That to us is not a rational price point.” He said it costs Comcast “potentially thousands of dollars” to transition a household from HFC to full fiber, so he doesn’t see how it makes any sense for a new fiber builder to be charging $30-$40 for its service. Comcast charges about $50 per month for its HFC 1 Gbps broadband and substantially more in the limited places where it offers fiber broadband. Investors got a little spooked after Armstrong said that Comcast’s broadband subscriber losses would improve on a year-over-year basis, but that the losses would not likely improve sooner. “So the pressure we've seen, in particular with irrational fiber pricing, is going to cause that,” he said. Comcast’s stock dropped from about $26 per share before the Goldman interview to about $25 today. Comcast will split into two companies in mid 2027 with Mike Cavanagh leading the new media spin-off company, which is expected to be named NBCUniversal. And former Comcast CFO Michael Angelakis will return to the company to become CEO of the retained cable business, which provides broadband, wireless and Xfinity TV services. Angelakis will definitely have his work cut out for him when he becomes Comcast CEO next summer. Read more about Comcast on Fierce Network Comcast spins off media biz but keeps cable and broadband Analysts want to know Comcast’s plan for satellite threat Charter, Cox become largest cable company in U.S. after California approval