65,000 Frustrated DSL Customers Fled CenturyLink Last Quarter Telcos like Windstream, Frontier and CenturyLink continue to lose DSL customers at an alarming rate as users flee to cable competitors that are actually able to deliver next-generation broadband speeds at scale. Most of these telcos have only upgraded their networks in highly strategic areas, leaving tens of millions of customers on expensive sub 6 Mbps DSL lines. Cable companies are now deploying DOSCIS 3.1 upgrades capable of pushing gigabit connectivity to customers, resulting in a steady stream of defections.

CenturyLink's latest earnings report indicates that the company lost another 65,000 DSL subscribers last quarter, Compare that to the two biggest cable providers Comcast and Charter, which added 134,000 and 231,000 new broadband subscribers respectively during the quarter. As these telcos remain unwilling or financially incapable of upgrading their networks at any real scale, cable providers are grabbing a bigger monopoly than ever over broadband services -- especially at speeds above the FCC's standard definition of 25 Mbps down, 4 Mbps up. CenturyLink was uncharacteristically candid about how badly it continues to be beaten up by cable competitors. "We had a seasonally challenging quarter from consumer broadband subscribers with an approximately 65,000 residential subscriber loss that was higher than anticipated,” CenturyLink CEO Glen Post said on the company's earnings call. “This was driven to a great degree from stronger cable competition, particularly 1 gig offerings in some of our key markets, coupled with aggressive pricing.” Other CenturyLink executives tried to put a rosy spin on the customer defections. “When you're looking at our net additions, what you're not seeing in that number is the speed mix,” said CenturyLink executive Maxine Moreau. “So where we're losing customers is really on the low end like under 20 Mbps. But when you get to 20, 40 Mbps and above, we're seeing growth year-over-year in subscribers.” Again, that's because customers in upgraded markets tend to stick around, and customers in neglected markets are finally growing tired of waiting for faster service. And until companies like CenturyLink are willing to pony up the cash for broader upgrades, this trend is only going to continue. Again, that's because customers in upgraded markets tend to stick around, and customers in neglected markets are finally growing tired of waiting for faster service. And until companies like CenturyLink are willing to pony up the cash for broader upgrades, this trend is only going to continue.







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Most recommended from 24 comments



TIGERON

join:2008-03-11

Boston, MA 42 recommendations TIGERON Member CenturyLink, Frontier, and Windstream CEOs : UPGRADE YOUR FUCKING WIRELINE NETWORKS. wavepax

join:2017-06-28

Avondale, AZ ·Cox HSI

·CenturyLink

10 recommendations wavepax Member I fled TO CLink from Cox in Phoenix area I switched to CLink recently because of Cox's hard data cap fees ($200/TB over 1TB cap), Cox price increases, CLink updated their network to 60Mbps in my neighborhood, and CLink's price for the first two years saves me $820 total over two years compared to Cox.



The author is spot on. The best cure to solve customer needs is competition.



GCoop

join:2004-12-08

Charlottesville, VA 9 recommendations GCoop Member ...the lucky ones Those 65,000 should be so lucky as to have a choice to flee somewhere. There are those of us with no other option but to endure. AndyDufresne

Premium Member

join:2010-10-30

Chanhassen, MN Ubiquiti EdgeRouter ERPro8

Netgear R7000

7 recommendations AndyDufresne Premium Member Just an example in my area Century vs Mediacom Fastest speed I can get from Century at my address is 20 down , they don't even mention the upload on their website. I'm currently getting 1 gig/50 from Mediacom. This iarea the median household income is north of $103k.



Centurylink is leaving money on the table. Windfarmer

daeligt kaeligps no mr

join:2015-08-30 5 recommendations Windfarmer Member Profit over all, that means upgrades aren't necessary to keep a profit if we keep rates high on the higher end and the low end customers can leave. That just means less stress on our network.



At least from CL's point of view.

Black_Mage

iMage

Premium Member

join:2012-09-12

USA ·Allo

4 recommendations Black_Mage Premium Member Windstream In the 2 years I had Windstream, I was very content with the speed and latency.....when it worked. I had a 24 Meg connection. The problem is I had racked up about a month's worth of outages in those 2 years. So even though they were cheaper than cable, I switched to cable because I was willing to pay more for a reliable connection.

Titus

Mr Gradenko

join:2004-06-26 4 recommendations Titus Member I'd be happy if your overpriced 10m service for $49 didn't routinely go down with every damn rain shower. And in what amounts to a high income / tax college area ... douchebags.



CL is a Comcast shit-show with 1/4 the speeds.

alchav

join:2002-05-17

Saint George, UT 3 recommendations alchav Member Any Form of Copper is Obsolete!!! Especially DSL, we are in the age of Fiber if you can't get it it's time to move. People have to find their priorities, and if they want Fiber only three major Companies can provide this.....AT&T, Google, or Verizon. You have to do more than hope, get your HOA 100% behind your idea and approach them with this information....I'm sure they will listen! jdofaz

join:2013-04-15

Phoenix, AZ 2 recommendations jdofaz Member Do they even want residential customers? In the Phoenix area I am no longer surprised to see phone wiring pedestals open with wires hanging out. Sometimes they have trash bags over them but they are left so long the bag rots off. I would guess some of these losses are because they can't deliver reliable service on sub 6Mbps lines.



I think they are focusing on more profitable business customers and are happy to take whatever money they get for the legacy network until it dies.