Comcast claims title of third-largest residential phone provider in U.S.

Comcast reports its Digital Voice service now serves 6.47 million customers, now exceeding Qwest's reported residential subscriber base. Did anyone ever see this coming after the breakup of Ma Bell a couple of decades ago?

Customers reportedly are switching to Comcast service due to a combination of low cost and rich features. There's also the usual "difficult economic climate" and "cutting household expenses" phrases, which aren't as impressive as the company's ability to add residential subscribes in each of the last twelve quarters. Yes, three years of continued growth.

Innovative features touted in the press release include a free Universal Caller ID feature to put incoming caller ID info on the TV or PC, an online portal to manage email and voicemail in one place along with syncing contact info from multiple sources into one universal address book (can we say "Plaxo"?), and a Casabi-based cordless phone able to view email, access the universal address book and do Yellow Page searches.

With 14.9 million Internet customers, Comcast has a 44 percent penetration rate for its voice service; cable subs number 24.2 million, so total penetration of Digital Voice into its footprint could arguably be called only 27 percent. How far can Comcast grow its phone subscriber base? Everyone loves more ARPU...

For more:
- Comcast hits the mark. Release.

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