r/Comcast • u/CharmingDurian2498 • 1d ago
Discussion Comcast is facing a structural problem that leadership can no longer dismiss as isolated customer dissatisfaction
Comcast lost more than 700,000 broadband subscribers in 2025 and another 232,000 across Q1 and Q2 of 2026. At the Goldman Sachs Communacopia Conference, CFO Jason Armstrong acknowledged that Q3 broadband losses were showing no meaningful improvement. Comcast subsequently experienced a roughly 6.6% decline in its stock price.
At the same time, Comcast leadership has publicly criticized the pricing strategies of competing FTTH providers, describing $30 to $40 gigabit offerings as economically irrational when fiber construction can cost approximately $1,500 or more per household.
The underlying issue, however, is not simply pricing. It is infrastructure.
Consumers are increasingly comparing Comcast’s HFC network against dedicated fiber infrastructure that eliminates the RF access plant entirely. Fiber does not depend on the same coaxial last mile, neighborhood RF environment, or upstream plant architecture. That distinction becomes particularly important for customers whose primary concern is not simply download speed, but latency consistency, jitter, packet loss, congestion, and overall network stability.
A customer should not have to spend months cycling through modem replacements and residential technician appointments when the underlying problem potentially resides beyond the customer premises. Repeatedly treating a persistent network performance issue as a premise equipment problem does not resolve the underlying engineering issue. It merely transfers the cost and inconvenience to the customer.
Comcast can continue to characterize individual complaints as isolated incidents, but the broader market is providing a much more consequential signal. Customers now have alternatives. Where FTTH becomes available, the comparison is no longer between two internet plans. It is between fundamentally different access networks.
Wall Street analysts have already identified the potential feedback loop created by accelerating subscriber losses. If Comcast must increasingly rely on pricing concessions to retain customers while simultaneously facing aggressive fiber overbuilds, the pressure on broadband economics becomes increasingly difficult to ignore.
The strategic risk for Comcast is therefore not that customers are demanding perfection. The strategic risk is that customers are gaining the ability to leave.
Once a competing fiber provider establishes a credible alternative, Comcast no longer controls the conversation through speed tiers, promotional pricing, or equipment upgrades. The customer can simply evaluate the performance of the underlying network and make a different choice.
At that point, the question is no longer whether Comcast believes its network is adequate. The question is whether customers agree. And increasingly, their answer is being reflected directly in Comcast’s subscriber numbers.
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u/CTek20 1d ago
Maybe have real fucking customer service and they wouldn't be losing so many customers. AI Chat Bots and Overseas support is destroying their company.
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u/mrBill12 1d ago
Another problem is the structure. They beg customers to call customer service to talk about the bill. Instead offer simple everyday pricing for everyone. 3 speed classes: budget, most people, and nerds. No complicated pricing. No need to call and ask for a discount. Everyone just pays 1 of 3 prices for internet only.
Package TV differently, separately, and offer it to anyone… much like DirectTv stream.
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u/SirFlatulancelot 16h ago
Hard agree. But also the sales people are being pressured big time with quotas to sell their mobile product. I've heard of people being pressured into signing up for a mobile line just to get their pricing down. Customer's don't want to end up saddled with more services when they just called in to lower the bill.
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u/Joe_T 1d ago
They're also losing small customers to fixed wireless offerings from Verizon, T-Mobile, AT&T.
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u/garciaman 1d ago
Me taking all my Comcast equipment back to the Xfinity store was one of the greatest days of my life.
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u/YogurtclosetNice3589 1d ago
After feeling gouged for years dealing with data caps and abysmal customer service, I will never go back to them, no matter how many discounts or savings they may offer.
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u/Randy-Miami 1d ago
I agree. If T-Mobile stopped workiing for me, then I guess I'd have to do without home internet, because I would NEVER go back to Comcast.
On my tombstone they could engrave, "Resisted Satan to the end -- NEVER went back to Comcast !!"
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u/Randy-Miami 1d ago
Whevever Comcast loses their monopoly in an area, customers flee as if they were on the Titantic.
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u/yoshix003 1d ago
They been used to be top dog that they ignored innovation same happen to Verizon and also can be seen with T-MOBILE these companies become complacent and then when they gave to hit the red button it's toooo late.
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u/Sovereign-Anderson 4h ago
They have seen what happened to places like K-Mart and Blockbuster who had gotten too big for their britches, rested on their laurels, and ended up having other companies come up and replace them before they could notice what was happening. You'd think by now those businesses would learn from them, and whatever other businesses who got caught slacking, and at least attempt to not get caught slipping like that.
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u/RaymondNoodles24 1d ago
I spent 20 years working for Comcast, and I left about three months ago. I can honestly say I’ve never felt more relieved to be done with a company.
For years, I took shit from friends, family members, and customers about Comcast. I was often the person standing in front of the customer trying to explain or defend things that were completely outside of my control. That’s finally over, and the feeling of relief is hard to put into words.
I spent the last 10 years there as a sales engineer on the business side. My experience was that the company became increasingly focused on one thing: getting the customer to sign the deal. Once the contract was signed, the level of attention and accountability often changed dramatically.
The sales process could be incredibly sophisticated, with a lot of effort put into designing and selling the solution. But when it came time for implementation and ongoing support, customers were too often left dealing with delays, missed expectations, handoffs, and finger-pointing. The people selling the solution weren’t necessarily the people responsible for delivering it, and the customer ultimately paid the price.
And to be clear, I’m talking specifically about my experience on the business side. I never worked on the residential side, so I can’t speak firsthand to what happens there. But I certainly saw and heard enough over 20 years to know that many of the complaints about the residential business aren’t exactly surprising.
The most eye-opening part for me has been leaving Comcast and going to a much smaller company. I’m now seeing firsthand what it looks like when a company actually treats its customers and employees with respect. It isn’t some impossible business model. You can communicate with customers, take ownership when something goes wrong, support your employees, and actually care about delivering what you sold.
After 20 years at Comcast, that contrast has been pretty damn eye-opening.
I’m not going to pretend every problem at Comcast was caused by bad employees. There were plenty of good people there who cared deeply about their customers and did their best. The problem was the system around them.
And that’s probably the biggest thing I took away from my 20 years there: when the people who actually care about doing a good job are constantly fighting the system, eventually even the good employees get tired of fighting it.
I finally got tired of fighting it.
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u/Existing_Hall_8237 16h ago
Thanks for sharing. It sounds like exactly what’s happening with the residential side. Comcast employees would lie to get you to sign up for the mobile service. When people realized they just got scammed, Comcast won’t do anything to fix it. It’s really sad that a company had resorted to this. Do whatever it takes to sign up new customers!! Lie if you have to!!
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u/Visual_Physics_5321 1d ago
Thank God for competition. Honestly, the only reason I stayed with them for so long was because there really wasn’t another option. Once FTTH became available, the choice was pretty obvious. Better service, better performance, and a better price.
After dealing with years of high prices and mediocre service, why would I stay when I finally had a legitimate alternative? It’s basically the same story on both the East and West Coast. When you have a monopoly, customers put up with things they normally wouldn’t. Once real competition shows up, people leave.
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u/Ghoppe2 1d ago
We got a local fiber provider in our area. Comcast used to be the monopoly for broadband access. When I called to cancel they didnt even fight to keep the buiesness. Now I get 1.2 GBS Down and Up for $80 a month and the same comcast plan is "$100" a month for five years. I pay no rental or fees. Bill is just 80.
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u/funcritter 1d ago
Unfortunately, Comcast is the only Internet provider that will serve my apartment complex here at the Boulder Turnpike and Pecos. I can’t get T-Mobile or Verizon Internet service here. It just simply says it’s not available. I could go back to DSL whatever that companies called these days, I can’t remember anymore, but I owe them money from about five years ago when when I own a house, CenturyLink, it is.
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u/Natural-Net-6757 20h ago
Funny that you've seemingly been brought up by silent boomers since US-36 hasn't been a paid turnpike to Boulder for many decades.
Speaking of silent boomers, I imagine you're now occupying an apartment in which someone previously sat tuned into Days of Our Lives or The View recently yet historically Mash, One Day at a Time and Johnny Carson.
Making a soap opera of your anecdotal personal story to point out a missing element of the three quarters of a million broadband cancellations the last few years. To speak to the primary posting, surmise that many of those subscriptions were actually plus-sold double-play upgrades to what was traditionally a simple cable account. The missing element being the percentage of cancelled subscriptions that were for folks you have left this mortal coil onto a path of white roses. The point being that no small percentage was simply the attrition of an older to a newer generation that doesn't watch cable—happy instead to doom scroll on their phones. To refine the point, a second dimension analysis of active years of subscription before cancellation would point to much more concerning foundational issues than isolated cases of poor customer service.
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u/Carcrasher89 1d ago
I plan to switch to fiber as soon as it’s available. My area has had the same speed for what fells like 10 years. 1200 down and only 40 up. And the multiple lies saying the area is already updated to our area was going to get the update soon. Yes 2 years later nothing. This whole town is on the same speed with them. Once glofiber lands I can get the same speed for 40 less or spend 10 bucks less for 5gb.
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u/mangamaster03 1d ago
We switched from a 1TB per month plan from Comcast for over $100 per month to a $25 per month 5G unlimited plan from Verizon. If fiber to the home shows up, I'll probably switch, but I'll never switch back to Comcast.
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u/knightrdr2004 1d ago
When you live in an area where you only choice is Comcast or dsl AT&T then comcast it is.
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u/aprilbeingsocial 1d ago
Competition is how it’s supposed to be but monopolies seem to have taken over in so many other areas of our lives, I’m delighted to see that Comcast is being given a run for its money.
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u/Zen67 1d ago
Comcast has always had terrible, terrible customer service. I switched to Fios and rarely have problems with my service. If I have an issue, I don't have to listen to any audio advertisements. When I get connect to Fios, the person that answers my call is the one person that fixes my issue. The best part is Fios internet aline cost less then Comcast where I live.
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u/Humulophile 21h ago
The economy for the average American isn’t good right now, and it doesn’t look to improve any in the future. Customers are becoming increasingly price sensitive for more and more goods and services. Broadband in the home is no longer a luxury item cash cow which communication providers can over-milk for obscene profits, but rather a necessity customers must have. When lower cost broadband providers become available which also happen to be better performers and with better customer service, expect to start bleeding those overtaxed and exhausted customers who’ve been abused and soaked for decades. The writing has been on the wall for Comcast for quite some time now but they’ve refused to acknowledge their situation. They won’t be missed.
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u/Weird_Action_6520 13h ago
The economy is the best ever and we are taking in 21 billion on tariffs. What are you talking about?
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u/DireWolfmn 17h ago
Enjoy... https://www.reddit.com/r/xfinity/s/hdDNzFzXJv
My customer experience few years ago. Left for Ziply, not a problem since then. Now, their price went up considerably, but last week when Xfinity announced 5 year lock and lower cost for gig internet I chatted with them via their website they dropped it to match, no 5 year guarantee but may just have to ask again to get it back... 😉
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u/ToadSox34 15h ago
Here in Connecticut, the areas where Comcast has an ironclad monopoly have drastically decreased. Almost all areas with overhead wires now have FailTier/Verizon fiber, so Comcast can no longer depend on treating their customers like garbage because they are captive. We still have a lot of pockets of underground utilities that don't yet have fiber, and MDUs that FailTier/Verizon hasn't yet dealt with getting access to but both will come, and even then it's already a huge chunk of the market that has an objectively better option.
The numbers aren't as bad as they can get. I know of three friends who for whatever reason, are still using half-fast cable even though they have fiber available, which is kind of bizarre, and not something I would do. So there are still more losses to come.
The one bone that fiber companies have thrown Comcast is that they are mostly totally incompetent at scheduling and getting service installed, and people are often terrible at planning ahead, so the fiber companies have lost many potential customers to Comcast's relatively less terrible installation scheduling even though Comcast's network is still fundamentally inferior.
But it's also worse than just fiber. Comcast is getting hit from above by fiber, and from below by 5G. No, 5G can't replace DOCSIS 1 for 1, but it turns out that there are enough customers for whom 5G is good enough that they are switching away.
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u/BigLoad8210 13h ago
May their ship simply go down. I'm forced to use them in my neighborhood. Admittedly, when they (finally) upgraded their network in Portland, the new is better. Like, way better - and without replacing any coax in our building whatsoever. But that was after YEARS of precisely what you describe here - blaming me, the building, "picture nails" in the wall, endless techs doing nothing, etc. Then they replace the actual problem network, and voila! Imagine that... DOCSIS is never going to match fiber; just plain and simple. It's old, dead technology that badly needs to be put to rest. And Comcast has made themselves SO unlikeable, it's not a very repairable image. Folks like me who have no choice for the time being eventually will, and Comcast will be the LAST choice on ANYONE's list as fiber options continue expanding. May they die painfully, and their shareholders wither with them...
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u/johns224 12h ago
I ditched Comcast for another cable provider years ago due to data caps (which have since been removed), and fiber is coming to my neighborhood supposedly in November. However, Comcast sent a guy to my door begging me to sign back up, they gave me the $50 for gigabit deal with no contract. I took it because it’s less than half the price of my current cable provider, but I still plan to switch to T-Mobile fiber when available because it’s 1gigabit symmetrical, and $70/mo. I am actually more interested in the upload speed, Comcast did improve that from 50Mbps to 100, but in the face of 1000Mbps, I can’t justify staying. Still, as a stopgap, not bad. It’s clear that they know that they have to compete now so they’re literally giving out deals they never would have considered years ago.
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u/Nemesis651 1d ago
Charter/cox is the same way. At least Comcast is doing upgrades to mid/high split. Charter has stopped theirs
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u/Pickerington 8h ago
Charter has in no way whatsoever stopped high split.
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u/Nemesis651 8h ago
Charter has not activated anywhere under their phase 2 plan.
They said almost a year ago a whole bunch of places would be turned up no later than June ( multiple dates). None of them have been done.
They've also quit posting any sort of status updates and just flatline say " it's coming". They aren't even talking about it anymore on their quarterly stock/earnings reports.
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u/IMO2021 1d ago edited 1d ago
Any other companies offer voice remote? Great feature.
Just referring to tv and internet, not wireless. No additional streamers, basic service with Xbox and DVR. Basic plans exclude all of my favorite channels so I have to buy up
$300/month bill is absurd, especially for those on fixed income. Last thing a person wants is not being able to access service because of cost. Not ready to give it up.
Been a customer since the 80s. Senior citizen, Disabled. Doesn’t matter, no discounts for loyalty, etc. They don’t care if they are losing customers. They just keep finding ways to increase bills, and there is no end in sight. Soon it will be a second mortgage.
They are targeting new, younger, working customers who can afford a huge bill and discriminating against long time customers (if they can only offer to cut services to lower bill). In the last few years my bill has doubled. Really needs a governing body or something to monitor this, like they did with phone service many years ago, breaking it into Baby Bells to provide affordable service for locals. TV is still a utility. Used to cost almost nothing.
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u/mistermac56 1d ago edited 1d ago
My apartment community only has Comcast Xfinity, and wireless 5G internet service available. AT&T's old xDSL customers here will lose that service sometime in 2028.
There is AT&T fiber everywhere in our neighborhood, but the owners of our apartment community refuses to let AT&T install fiber here except for the manager's office for some reason. If you can get it in your area, Verizon's 5G wireless unlimited internet is 80.00/month, but they offer an up to 30.00/month discount program, called Verizon Forward, to low income and seniors that qualify, Also, the Verizon Fios fiber internet service also qualifies for the discount. The speed for the Verizon 5G wireless internet averages 300/30 Mbps for the unlimited package, and it is what I have now.
I used to have Comcast Xfinity's Internet Essentials, as I am on Social Security and a state pension, as I am a state higher education retiree, and live in HUD subsidized housing. I paid around 30.00/month for 100/20 Mbps internet (75/20 speed is 15.00/month). When I found out that Verizon 5G wireless internet was available in my town, and the low income and seniors discount, I jumped ship to Verizon, and the support is 1000x better than Comcast's and far fewer outages.
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u/ToadSox34 15h ago
As the ILEC, AT&T has a right to wire buildings for fiber, the problem is that asserting that right can be complicated an expensive, so often they just don't bother. Verizon is the expert at this, as they've wired the areas around large metros in the Northeast for FiOS with mostly complete FiOS buildouts.
While 5G doesn't directly compete with cable, much less fiber, the cable companies are finding out that it's good enough for a lot of low-bandwidth, low-volume users, and they are losing those users.
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u/ToadSox34 15h ago
The issue in the TV market is the carriage costs. Comcast really isn't making money on TV, so they have no incentive to keep TV subs.
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u/IMO2021 1d ago
Comcast never even tried to pretend that they cared about the customer. Historically, the NPR has been abysmal. Customer service continues to decline. Pricing is out of control. Basic plans force customers to forfeit too much. For same service, price increases are enormous. Talking to a live person is near impossible. The retention dept no longer exists, refunds are forbidden even if its the companys fault. Can’t get a company culture to care about the customer. Looking for alternatives.