reports
- Blair Levin
T Threats Limited in Senate FirstNet Hearing; House Hearing This Week
In a legislative battle pitting the interests of T v. VZ and TMUS, the Senate held a hearing last week on the reauthorization of the FirstNet Authority (FNA), with the House holding another one this coming Wednesday. In this note, we analyze the first hearing as well as a draft House bill with an eye toward whether the upcoming Congressional action is likely to change the current economics of public safety communications for T, VZ, and TMUS.
- David Barden
Wireless: Key controversies heading into US wireless 4Q25 results and ...
We can’t remember a time when investors were as nervous about wireless earnings as they are going into 4Q25 results. We think this concern is by and large overblown and we will all come out feeling consoled on the other side of this earnings cycle. In this short note, we discuss the key controversies impacting the wireless sector currently and our perspective.
- Blair Levin
What’s at Stake for T (and VZ and TMUS) in the Upcoming FirstNet Autho...
Tomorrow, weather permitting, the Senate Commerce Committee will hold a hearing on the FirstNet Authority (FNA). Generally, we don’t write about Congressional hearings as they focus on sound bites rather than policy relevant to investors. Here, however, the hearing could prove market relevant. FNA has a contract with T, but Congress must act if the FNA is to be reauthorized past 2027. And the battle over the terms of that reauthorization pits T v. VZ and TMUS. In this note we provide backg...
- David Barden
The future of US wireless, right now - Extrapolating 3Q25 wireless tre...
We are taking 3Q25 results and the most recent cNPS data and laying out our latest thinking and forecasts ahead of 4Q results. We expect 4Q results and attendant 2026 guidance to contain material information value for investors and we wanted to share our latest forecasts, data, and trends as a starting point as we navigate this impactful season.
- David Barden
- Vikash Harlalka
The future of broadband 3Q25: Our updated broadband industry forecast ...
In this report, our latest broadband outlook tome, in addition to forecasting the future of broadband by technology for the next 5 years, we undertake a sensitivity analysis for Cable's end-state market share possibilities. We also refresh our work on the relative competitive positioning of carriers based on end-user cNPS scores via our Recon Analytics partnership.
- David Barden
- David Barden
Autumn for Broadband 3Q25 – FWA ascendant, Cable struggling
We share here, in our latest Autumn for Broadband report, a quick update on broadband industry trends based on reported company results so far. Industry net adds have improved substantially from a year ago but remain below last year’s when adjusted for ACP impact. Net adds for the quarter were higher than the pre-pandemic norm but trailing twelve-month net adds remain below pre-pandemic levels. We take a deep-dive into FWA’s continued strong momentum by carrier.
- David Barden
TMUS: A great house, but the neighborhood? We need convincing...
TMUS had a strong quarter, and the stock was down. We believe the reason is the general concern that Verizon will say something on 10/29 that makes investors run for the hills. Verizon, in our view, must prioritize 2 objectives, 1) explain how change is coming, and that this is a good thing, but at the same time 2) assure a jittery market that VZ will not burn down the neighborhood in which they own the largest house. We think they will be able to do both, and we are optimistic.
- David Barden
T-Mobile 3Q25 Quick Take: Strong results; guidance raised
Postpaid phone net adds beat by a big margin. FWA net adds were higher as well. Revenue and EBITDA also beat slightly. The company has raised guidance across the board and now expects higher subscriber adds, higher EBITDA as well as higher FCF. The stock should trade up on the beat and guidance increase. Cable may be soft again due to the FWA beat.
- Vikash Harlalka
BEAD: Update for the Lone Star State
We have updated our BEAD analysis to include the proposal from Texas which was allocated the largest amount of BEAD funding. We now include BEAD proposals from 52 states & territories in our below analysis. We have also updated the analysis for states that have revised their proposals.
- David Barden
- David Barden
3Q25 Broadband Estimate Deep Dive
If you are one of those eager contrarians looking for the quarter where a combination of discount valuations and even a modest turnaround in cable KPI trends could boost the stocks, this probably ain’t it. The cable industry continues to lose subscribers at an elevated pace with Comcast doing worse than Charter thanks to the 1-2 punch of fiber and FWA.
- Vikash Harlalka
BEAD: Update for 3 More States
In this latest update, we now include BEAD proposals from 51 states & territories. We have updated our analysis for Alaska, Florida and Utah. Comcast, Brightspeed and AT&T remain at the top of the list among wireline operators. Fiber remains the dominant technology both in terms of locations as well as funding.
- Vikash Harlalka
BEAD: Impact of Price caps on funding
Based on a leaked internal NTIA memo related to BEAD, it seems like the final proposals by the states may not be final and the NTIA may force them to make changes to their plans. We have analyzed all the proposals so far and estimate that Comcast, AT&T and Frontier may be most impacted by these rules. However, the overall impact isn’t material.
- Vikash Harlalka
BEAD: Another Major Update
We are almost in the home stretch of the BEAD proposal process. In this latest update, we now include BEAD proposals from 48 states & territories. We also incorporate the revisions in some state proposals. Comcast and Brightspeed are at the top of the list among wireline operators. Fiber’s share of locations remained unchanged from our last update. Satellite and FWA together account for close to a third of the locations awarded.
- Philip Burnett
TMUS Quick Take: Srini replacing Mike as CEO
T-Mobile announced that Srini Gopalan will replace Mike Sievert as CEO of T-Mobile on November 1st. Mike will remain as Vice Chairman of the company, a new role that they say will have Mike continue as an operator at the company (rather than purely a figurehead). Srini's new contract runs through November 2030, while Mike's renews annually. The company has also amended the contracts of the existing CFO and President of Marketing, which seems meant to signal that Srini won't replace the entire C-...
- Vikash Harlalka
BEAD: Update for 7 more proposals
In this latest update, we now include BEAD proposals from 39 states & territories. Comcast and AT&T remain at the top of the list among wireline operators. Fiber’s share of locations has stabilized with small share shifts in either direction with each update (fiber’s share increased slightly after this update). Satellite and FWA together account for close to a third of the locations awarded.
- Vikash Harlalka
BEAD: Funding wins and investments by operator
In this note on BEAD, we summarize the funding wins so far for each operator along with the matching investment they are expected to make based on the cost estimates of each state. Based on the state estimates, they are contributing 63% of the estimated build costs and the operators are expected to invest 37% of the cost. The share of investments needed varies depending on the operator, and in some cases may be lower than estimated.
- Vikash Harlalka
BEAD: NTIA Deadline is here
Today is the deadline for all states to submit their final proposals. We now include proposals from 32 states in this latest update on BEAD. Fiber’s share of locations has nearly stabilized with small share shifts in either direction with each update (fiber’s share declined slightly after this update). Satellite and FWA together account for a third of the locations awarded.
- Vikash Harlalka
BEAD: Half-time report
Our latest BEAD update includes proposals from 25 states. Fiber remains the preferred technology with its share improving slightly from our last update. In this note, we analyze the results, compare them with estimates from our Broadband Insights database, and its implications for broadband companies. We also update our summary for BEAD proposals so far.
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