Cable One is looking at how it could follow its larger cable MSO counterparts with a mobile wireless strategy for its customer base, but cautions that it will have to meet specific criteria to make it work.
The service provider has signed an agreement with an unnamed mobile virtual network enabler (MVNE) to pilot mobile service in several of our markets.
Speaking to investors during its second-quarter earnings call, Julia Laulis, the outgoing CEO of Cable One, said the work with the MVNE is to investigate how wireless could become part of a broader service portfolio.
“This marks the start of a focused initiative to explore whether mobile can complement our wired broadband product by delivering added convenience, greater flexibility, and stronger overall value for customers,” she said. “By offering connectivity both inside and outside the home, we aim to strengthen long-term relationships and improve retention while meeting more of our customers' everyday needs.”
However, Laulis cautioned that for any mobile offering to work, it must align with its goals around uptime and features that will resonate with new and existing customers.
“We have believed that mobile makes sense only if a few key conditions are met: improved wholesale economics, better mobile network reliability standards in our markets, mature enablement platforms, and a fully featured product with the potential to attract value-conscious customers,” she said. “The shifting market dynamics and advancements in technology have improved the economic viability of mobile, making this a good time for us to launch this pilot program.”
Broadband challenges, opportunities
While Cable One sees potential in wireless, the service provider saw challenges with its second-quarter residential broadband results.
Driven by continued softness in connections and elevated churn, Cable One lost 13,000 residential data customers.
Despite residential broadband revenue increasing on a sequential basis by 1.9% to $229 million compared to the first quarter, driven primarily by higher ARPU.
Laulis said the second quarter's results were influenced by a combination of internal actions the company took during the period and other external factors, including “some pricing and packaging adjustments for a subset of our customers, double the typical volume of promotional roll-offs, continued competitive headwinds and seasonal softness in our college markets.”
However, Laulis added that Cable One has seen sequential month-over-month growth in connections every month this year through the end of the second quarter.
“This trend suggests our new products and go-to-market strategies are showing early signs of positive impact,” she said.
Cable One is also facing intense competition from fiber broadband and wireless broadband.
Fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) overbuilds largely from incumbent telco providers now represent approximately 53% of Cable One’s passings. In addition, wireless internet competition is nearly ubiquitous across its footprint.
“While we expect competitive intensity to persist, we believe our neighborly service, enhanced platforms, and an evolving set of products position us to defend and grow share over the long term,” Laulis said. “We're continuing to fight hard for every new customer while staying focused on retaining our existing ones.”
Enhancing ARPU
While Cable One struggled with broadband churn in the second quarter, the cable MSO saw an uptick in ARPU.
Due to the impact of segmented pricing changes as well as promotional expirations, greater adoption of value-enhancing services like SecurePlus and Ultimate Wi-Fi, Cable One’s ARPU rose $2.39.
It is also seeing good results from the completion of its AutoPay program and higher speed adoption
“Selling to premium speed tiers of gig or above remained high at 46%, reinforcing customer demand for higher speed plans and further supporting ARPU,” Laulis said.
As for the remainder of the year, Cable One expects ARPU to remain stable. Cable One is seeing adoption of its Lift Internet and FlexConnect options, which are helping it reach value-conscious customers.
“Flex connected option has not met our expectations to date, but we continue to believe that both FlexConnect and Lift will play an essential role in today's competitive environment,” Laulis said. “These products compete directly on price with cellphone Internet while offering a superior experience with unlimited data, consistent speeds and greater reliability.”
Additionally, Cable One introduced Tech Assist, a $10 per month support service that offers expert help with a wide range of Wi-Fi connected devices outside of our Internet equipment from setup to troubleshooting. The Tech Assist feature provides customers with convenient, reliable assistance for tech issues related to smart thermostats, doorbells and security cameras.
“While we don't expect Tech Assist to generate material revenue in 2025, it reflects our focus on delivering customer-centric innovation and practical value-added services that simplify daily life for our customers,” Laulis said. “We are optimistic it will begin to generate meaningful results in 2026 and beyond.”
Revenues lag on video declines
Cable One’s overall revenues saw a common thread seen in the cable industry—ongoing video subscriber churn to online video sources.
The cable MSO’s residential video revenues drove the majority of the decrease in total revenues with a year-over-year reduction of $9 million or 15.8% due to continued video subscriber attrition.
Likewise, residential data revenues decreased $1.1 million or 0.5% year-over-year to $229.3 million, driven by a 3.2% decline in subscribers, partially offset by a 2.4% increase in ARPU.
Todd Koetje, CFO of Cable One, noted that “on a sequential basis, residential data revenues increased $4.2 million or 1.9% over the first quarter, driven by a 3% increase in ARPU.”
Business services continued to be a bright spot in Cable One’s revenue mix, growing 1.2% year-over-year due to what Koetje said was “continued strength in our high-value fiber and carrier segments.”
“These high-performing categories benefited from robust sales activity, increased connection volumes, and the ramp of previously announced multimillion-dollar long-term contracts,” he said.
Total revenues for the second quarter of 2025 were $381.1 million compared to $394.5 million in the second quarter of 2024.
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Sean Buckley
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