Comcast / Xfinity
Cable monopoly losing video, defending broadband
Some genuine powers in play. Disruption needs more than better tech — it needs a real angle.
What they do
Comcast is the largest U.S. cable broadband provider. Cord-cutting has gutted the video business, leaving broadband as the cash cow — but fiber overbuilders and fixed-wireless carriers are eating into that, too.
Why they're disruptable
ISPs that skip the truck-roll model and ship a software-first install + support experience can win on NPS in markets where Comcast has historically won by default.
7 Powers defensibility
Hamilton Helmer's framework. Higher score = harder to disrupt on that axis.
Some real powers in play. Disruption requires a sharp wedge, not just better tech.
- Scale EconomiesPer-unit cost decreases as volume grows. Big players' fixed costs amortize across more output.5/5
Last-mile cable network is the textbook scale-economies asset — per-home cost falls sharply with density.
- Network EconomiesThe product gets more valuable as more people use it. Each new user benefits the existing ones.1/5
Negligible; broadband isn't more useful when more neighbors have Comcast.
- Counter-PositioningA business model competitors can't copy without damaging their existing business (e.g. cannibalization).1/5
Bundled cable + broadband is what they've always done — nothing asymmetric to defend.
- Switching CostsThe pain — financial, procedural, emotional — a customer faces to move to an alternative.4/5
Truck roll, modem swap, scheduling — most households just don't bother switching ISPs.
- BrandingCustomers pay more or choose by default because of identity, trust, or affective association.1/5
Famously terrible NPS; 'Comcastic' has been a meme for poor service for over a decade.
- Cornered ResourcePreferential access to a coveted asset — talent, IP, contracts, real estate, regulatory permits.4/5
Local franchise rights and physical right-of-way are real, scarce, locally-monopolistic assets.
- Process PowerEmbedded organizational processes and culture competitors can't replicate quickly (e.g. Toyota Production System).2/5
Operationally adequate at scale but not differentiated.
Discussion (0)
Make the case for or against the disruption thesis.