Kevin JohnsonComcast Corporation is a telecommunication, cable TV, and internet service provider based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1963 by Ralph J. Roberts after he acquired and rebranded American Cable Systems. In 1969, the company was re-incorporated under the name Comcast Corp.
The company acquired American Cellular Network Corp in 1988 for $230 million to enter the mobile phone market. In 2002, Comcast bought AT&T Broadband for $44.5 billion to become the largest cable TV provider in the US. Later, the company acquired NBCUniversal for $22.9 billion in Mar 2013 and British media outfit Sky in 2018 for $39 billion. Today, Comcast is the largest pay-TV, cable TV, and internet service provider in the US. [1]
Comcast offers cable television, broadband internet, and home telephone services through Comcast Cable (Xfinity). The company operates in the European media sector via Sky and the US entertainment market via NBCUniversal.
In Feb 2020, Comcast acquired Xumo to strengthen its streaming service Peacock. As of Nov 2022, NBCUniversal’s Peacock had over 15 million paying subscribers in the US. The company provides free Wi-Fi access in US community centers via the Lift Zones program.
In Dec 2022, Comcast surpassed its target to launch 1,250 Lift Zones within a year. However, the company faces stiff competition from AT&T, Verizon, Cisco, Disney, Avaya, Microsoft, Atos Unify, and Dialpad. [2]
Here is an in-depth analysis of Comcast’s top 15 competitors and alternatives:
1. AT&T
Year founded: 1983
Headquarter: Dallas, Texas
AT&T is a telecommunications, media, and technology company. It offers telephone and internet services, telecom equipment, wireless communications, and managed networking. As of Jan 2022, AT&T had 203,000 employees.
AT&T is the world’s largest telecommunications company by revenue. It is also the third largest provider of mobile telephone services in the US. In the 2010s, the company entered the entertainment sector after acquiring DIRECTV and Time Warner. This venture increased AT&T’s debt to over $200 billion.
However, in 2022, AT&T sold off DIRECTV, spun off all its entertainment assets, and returned to being a pure telecom company. AT&T is the top Comcast competitor in the telecommunications sector. [3]
2. Verizon Communications Inc.
Year founded: 1983
Headquarter: New York City, New York
Verizon is an American multinational telecommunications conglomerate. The company is a corporate component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and operates in the digital media sector through Verizon Media and Oath Inc. In 2022, Verizon had 118,400 employees.
Verizon and Comcast compete in the telecommunications and media sectors, although Comcast runs its cell phone service via Verizon’s network. In 2021, Verizon set a target to provide Ultra Wideband 5G to 175 million people between 2022 and 2023.
The company expects to cover at least 250 million people by the end of 2024 after achieving its 2022 target faster than planned, making Verizon a formidable competitor to Comcast. [4]
3. Cisco
Year founded: 1984
Headquarter: San Jose, California
Cisco offers business networking and communications solutions. It provides a fully integrated UCaaS, CCaaS, and CPaaS portfolio for CX via Webex Suite, Webex Contact Center, and Webex Connect. As of July 30, 2022, Cisco had around 83,300 employees.
Cisco and Comcast provide robust telecommunication solutions. Cisco Webex CX integrates Webex Connect and Webex Contact Center to help businesses engage with customers across CX journeys using digital, voice, and messaging interactions.
In Oct 2022, Cisco introduced new features and capabilities for Webex CX to deliver a fully integrated collaboration, cloud contact center, and cloud communications platform. Cisco is one of the top alternatives to Comcast for business communications. [5]
4. The Walt Disney Company
Year founded: 1923
Headquarter: Burbank, California
Disney is a mass media and entertainment conglomerate. The company competes against Comcast’s NBCUniversal across the media and entertainment sector. In 2022, Disney had around 220,000 employees.
Disney and NBCUniversal produce films and episodic television programs and own several theme parks. Disney’s subsidiaries include ABC Signature, Disney Television Animation, FX Productions, and Marvel Studios.
In Dec 2022, NBC CEO Jeff Shell fuelled the rivalry by claiming that Universal produces better animation films than Disney. In 2023, Disney will scale down its content output as the media giant shifts its focus to quality over quantity.
The rivals are also fighting over Hulu, of which Disney owns 66% vs. 33% for Comcast. Both seek to buy out the competition and take over Hulu. Disney is the top Comcast competitor in the mass media and entertainment sector. [6]
5. Avaya
Year founded: 2000
Headquarter: Durham, North Carolina
Avaya is a tech company that provides cloud communications and workstream collaboration services. Its platform includes unified communications (UCaaS) and a contact center. In 2022, Avaya served 42 of the top 50 banks, the top ten airlines, the top seven US health insurance providers, and 12 of the top 13 hotels.
Avaya offers an innovative phone system for large corporations with various departments. Businesses can leverage Avaya to incorporate cloud capabilities like digital channels, AI, and workflow automation into their contact centers.
In Dec 2022, Wall Street insiders reported that Avaya plans to file for bankruptcy and restructure its business. The company will scrape several product lines to streamline its portfolio. Uncertainties undercut Avaya’s competitive edge over Comcast. [7]
6. Microsoft
Year founded: 1975
Headquarter: Redmond, Washington
Microsoft offers innovative communication and collaboration solutions. Microsoft Teams is a cloud-based virtual office platform that combines text, voice, and video calls in a single application. As of 2022, Microsoft has about 221,000 employees.
Microsoft Teams and Comcast improve communications and interactions, but Teams has a significant competitive advantage because it integrates with other Microsoft solutions. Over 75 million people use Teams daily to streamline interactions.
In Mar 2022, Microsoft Teams unveiled a new add-on enabled by Interprefy. This feature provides real-time translation during video meetings, making Microsoft the fiercest Comcast competitor. [8]
7. Atos Unify
Year founded: 2008
Headquarter: Munich, Germany
Atos Unify is a communication platform that offers a multi-channel contact center to help companies integrate customer interactions and achieve business goals. According to Gartner’s Customer Reviews, Atos Unify has a 4.3-star rating.
Atos Unify’s end-to-end communication software serves customers in over 100 countries. In 2020, Atos partnered with RingCentral to create Unify Office and Unify Video to replace the Circuit solution, which Atos terminated at the end of 2022.
Unify Video by RingCentral supports webRTC video meetings, audio conferencing, team messaging, file sharing, cloud storage, task management, and app integrations. Customers can also migrate from Circuit to Unify Office by RingCentral to access messaging and cloud telephony. Atos Unify is one of the best Comcast alternatives. [9]
8. Dialpad
Year founded: 2011
Headquarter: San Francisco, California
Dialpad is an Ai-powered customer intelligence platform over which users can set up business VoIP phone services, web conferences, and call centers. In Dec 2021, Dialpad raised $170 million at a $2.2 billion valuation.
Dialpad offers Ai Contact Center, Ai Sales, Ai Voice, and Ai Meetings with Ai Messaging. In Nov 2022, Dialpad was named a Visionary in Magic Quadrant for UCaaS of Gartner.
Over 30,000 innovative brands use Dialpad to boost customer satisfaction, productivity, and collaboration, using real-time Ai insights. Dialpad is one of the top Comcast alternatives. [10]
9. GoTo Connect
Year founded: 2003
Headquarter: Boston, Massachusetts
GoTo Connect is a user-friendly communication platform offered by LogMeIn. Its cloud-based VoIP software combines several solutions, including call center, phone, videoconferencing, and messaging. In 2021, GoTo’s parent company LogMeIn had over 2 million customers globally.
Both GoTo Connect and Comcast streamline communications with robust features. The main benefit of using GoTo Connect is the option to bundle it with LogMeIn solutions. Users can leverage MFA, encryption, and Meeting Lock to secure communications.
Another advantage of GoTo Connect is seamless integration with more than 180 desk phone models, making GoTo Connect an easy-to-use alternative to Comcast. [11]
10. Google
Year founded: 1998
Headquarter: Mountain View, California
Google is renowned as the leading search engine, but the company offers several products that compete against Comcast, including Google Workspace and Google Chat. In 2022, Google had around 119,000 employees.
Like Comcast, both Google Chat and Workspace enhance communication and team collaboration. Using Workspace, project leaders can create new documents, sheets, forms, and slides and organize folders and resources for easy access by team members.
Google also competes with Comcast in the internet service sector, with Google Fiber vs. Xfinity. Google Fiber is fast and reliable, but it’s not as widely available as Xfinity. Overall, Google is a worthy Comcast competitor. [12]
11. RingCentral
Year founded: 1999
Headquarter: Belmont, California
RingCentral is a cloud-based communication and collaboration solutions provider. It offers RingCentral Office and Fax, RingCentral Professional, and RingCentral Meetings. In 2022, the company employed around 3,919 people and made over 90% of its revenue from subscriptions. [13]
RingCentral Office is an all-in-one communication module with remote collaboration tools. The system offers intelligence-assisted speech recognition, an Omni-channel contact center, and customer engagement.
According to Gartner’s Customer Reviews, RingCentral has a 4.5-star rating and outperforms the competition in efficiency and accessibility. RingCentral is a worthy alternative to Comcast.
12. Vodafone
Year founded: 1984
Headquarter: Berkshire, United Kingdom
Vodafone is a British telecommunications company that operates in Asia, Africa, Europe, and Oceania. The company competes against Comcast in the European telecom market. In 2022, Vodafone had over 95,000 employees.
Vodafone operates in India as Vodafone Idea (Vi), India’s third-largest telecom player. Vi faces several issues, including financial challenges and subscriber loss.
In 2023, millions of Airtel and Jio users in India will experience 5G for the first time. Yet Vi has not delivered a specific timeline or a roadmap for its 5G roll-out due to funding issues. However, the Vodafone Group is gaining market share in other regions, including Africa and Oceania. [14]
13. Vonage
Year founded: 2001
Headquarter: Holmdel, New Jersey
Vonage is a Communication-Platform-as-a-Service (CPaaS) company. Its Vonage Business Communications (VBC) platform offers an all-in-one system with voice telephony, SMS, fax, team chat, social media, and video conference.
In 2022, Vonage employed around 2,400 people globally. The company makes over $1 billion in communications revenue. [15]
VBC competes against Comcast across the communications sector. It combines all essential tools in a single system, from voice alerts to bulk SMS, live web chat, and voice APIs. Innovative brands like Siemens, Glassdoor, Zipcar, and DHL use VBC, making it a formidable Comcast competitor.
14. Zoom Video Communications
Year founded: 2011
Headquarter: San Jose, California
Zoom is a video telephony company that offers the world-famous Zoom Meetings software. It streamlines virtual interactions for millions of individuals and businesses globally. In 2022, Zoom had around 6,787 employees and over $4 billion in revenue. [16]
Both Zoom and Comcast enable seamless interactions from remote locations, but Zoom focuses on video communications. Most SMBs and individuals use Zoom’s free plan, which lasts 40 minutes and allows up to 100 participants.
The Zoom Meetings app supports document sharing and runs on PCs and smartphones. Zoom is one of the best Comcast alternatives for individuals and small businesses.
15. T-Mobile US, Inc.
Year founded: 2001
Headquarter: Overland Park, Kansas, and Bellevue, Washington
T-Mobile US is an American wireless network operator partially owned by German telecom company Deutsche Telekom AG. As of Aug 2022, Deutsche Telekom AG controlled 48.4% of T-Mobile’s common stock. In 2022, T-Mobile was worth $175 billion and had about 113.6 million customers.
T-Mobile and Comcast compete in the telecom market, but Comcast offers cell phone service over Verizon’s network. In 2020, T-Mobile merged with Sprint to become the second-largest wireless carrier in the US.
In Dec 2022, CNN Business named T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert the CEO of the Year thanks to T-Mobile’s impressive performance. T-Mobile is one of the top competitors for Comcast. [17]
References & more information
- Rossolillo, N. (2022, Nov 3). Comcast Stock rallies as the company might enter “House Cleaning” mode. The Motley Fool
- Comcast Corporation (2022, Dec 21). Comcast exceeds the goal of launching 1,250 Lift Zones in 2022. Yahoo Finance
- Pope, J. (2022, Sep 21). Why AT&T’s 2023 looks brighter than its 2022. The Motley Fool
- Alleven, M. (2022, Mar 3). Verizon beefs up C-band deployment to 175 million by end of 2022. Fierce Wireless
- Cisco (2022, Oct 26). Webex by Cisco enhances Customer Experiences in the Digital Era. Cisco.com
- Bhattacharyya, R. (2022, Dec 7). Universal’s Animation may be better than Disney’s, says NBC CEO. CBR
- Wright, T. (2022, Dec 13). Avaya hints at axed products in a “streamlined” portfolio. UC Today
- Khalili, J. (2022, Mar 11). The New Microsoft Teams app eliminates an obvious advantage of Zoom. TechRadar
- Atos Unify (2022, Oct 13). The Circuit will switch off in 2022…so what’s next? Unify.com
- Dialpad (2022, Nov 30). Dialpad was named a Visionary in the 2022 Gartner Magic Quadrant for UCaaS, Worldwide. Business Wire
- Nagro, A. (2021, Dec 15). GoToConnect Business Phone System Review and Prices. US News
- Christiansen, P. (2022, Dec 22). Google Fiber vs. Xfinity: Which internet provider is best for you? High-Speed Internet
- RingCentral Inc (2022, Feb 23). RingCentral Announces Fourth Quarter 2021 Results. Yahoo Finance
- Thakur, T. S. (2022, Dec 28). What is happening with Vodafone Idea as 2022 comes to an end? Telecom Talk
- Vonage (2022, Feb 24). Vonage Reports Fourth Quarter 2021 Financial Results. Globe Newswire
- Zoom Video Communications, Inc. (2022, Feb 28). Zoom Reports Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2022 Financial Results. Globe Newswire
- La Monica, P. R. (2022, Dec 26). Mike Sievert of T-Mobile is the CNN Business CEO of the Year. CNN
- Featured Image by Lars Kienle
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