Charter quietly launches website for Spectrum Mobile

The number three cable TV service provider in the United States, Charter, has launched the official website of its upcoming mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) brand -- Spectrum Mobile -- albeit quietly. With this move, the company more or less gives its future customers an idea of how it is going to market its mobile offerings.

Of course, among the giants in the cable TV industry in the US, Comcast was the first to do it last year, with the launch of its Xfinity Mobile MVNO. And it appears that Charter’s Spectrum Mobile is taking after Xfinity, at least for now, in showcasing its wireless options. There is not much difference in the pricing, and even the features being offered and the smartphone devices being made available are similar to Xfinity.

It seems that Charter is really going full steam ahead in taking full advantage of the mobile partnership it had recently struck with Comcast. As far as unlimited data offerings go, Spectrum Mobile’s $45 per month pricing is right up there with Xfinity Mobile’s. Both brands also happen to promise international roaming and public hotspot network inclusions, although an argument can be made that Comcast’s 18 million strong hotspot offering is far larger in scope compared to Charter’s 500,000 hotspots. On top of this, Spectrum and Xfinity both allow customers to trade in an existing mobile device for a newer model.

So in which areas do they differ? For one, Charter’s Spectrum Mobile charges $14 for every gigabyte of data, while Comcast’s Xfinity Mobile only charges $12. And while it is true that both brands only sell their smartphone devices to their current respective Internet subscribers, they differ in how much they charge a fee against those who avail of wireless service and then subsequently terminate their home web service -- Spectrum charges a $20 fee and throttle Wi-Fi connection speeds, while Xfinity charges $10 per month per line.

When it comes to the range of handsets, Spectrum Mobile’s catalog is much more limited compared to Xfinity Mobile’s -- well at least for now. Spectrum may only offer Android powered handsets (mostly from Samsung and LG), but perhaps in the near future, it could also start to sell Apple devices, just like Xfinity does. 

Charter has also stated that it will be throttling customers’ video streaming quality to 480 p on both its unlimited and per gigabyte options. Want to know more? Better head to Spectrum Mobile’s official website now.