Charter Super Bowl ad takes a shot at T-Mobile Home Internet

Charter Communications used its first Super Bowl ad since 2018 to take a jab at the speed and reliability of T-Mobile's fixed wireless access (FWA) service while putting its own broadband service in a positive light.

Titled "Holes," Charter's new 30-second ad humorously depicts a family that selected T-Mobile Home Internet service, only to discover that the father in the crew went to extreme measures to ensure they can get solid service by punching a gaping hole in the wall.

Charter ran the ad in more than two dozen Spectrum markets, including New York, Dallas, Los Angeles, St. Louis, and Kansas City, during Sunday's Super Bowl LVIII matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers.

"What is this?" the flabbergasted mom in the family asks as she gazes upon the renovations made by her husband.

"Well, you know how our T-Mobile Home Internet can slow down?" he responds. "Turns out, walls can get in the way." So, he "fixed it."

"So, instead of getting us Spectrum Internet that's fast and reliable 24/7, you got us Internet that can be blocked by a wall?" the mother asks.

More than one wall, as it turns out. The son then enters, sledgehammer in hand and donning protective goggles, to warn his mother that she "might not want to go in the dining room."

Related:Charter pushes HFC upgrade timeline to 2026 as rural builds accelerate

Though the ads pokes some fun, it fits with some of the recent commentary Charter and other cable operators have made about FWA, characterizing it as an inferior technology that won't stand up against future demands for speed and bandwidth.

Charter, which has a wave of hybrid fiber/coax (HFC) upgrades underway, has also likened FWA to "just another form of DSL."

"As consumer bandwidth needs increase over time and as the network capacity of these mobile networks shrinks as a result of the utilization, I think fixed wireless access turns into really just another form of DSL, particularly when you take a look at the capabilities of our network today and where we're going with high-split DOCSIS 4.0," Charter CEO Chris Winfrey said last fall.

Charter's new ad emerges as it and other cable operators are feeling competitive pressure from FWA, particularly on the lower end of the home broadband market. Charter shed 61,000 broadband subs in Q4 2023, while T-Mobile, Verizon and AT&T all turned in solid gains on the FWA side of the ledger.

It's not the first time Charter has taken aim at the reliability and technical capability of a competitor. In 2015, Charter launched a Star Trek-themed campaign featuring actor, comedian and "Saturday Night Live" alum Kevin Nealon that mocked satellite TV. That campaign was later scrutinized by the National Advertising Division.

Related:T-Mobile urged to stop using 'fast,' 'high-speed' or 'reliable' in FWA ads