Comcast said today that growth in its phone business now makes it the nation’s third-largest residential provider, surpassing Denver-based Qwest.
Comcast said 12 consecutive quarters of growth in phone service have brought its nationwide residential customer total to 6.47 million, exceeding Qwest’s reported 5.96 million.
Verizon is the nation’s largest provider, followed by AT&T.
Qwest noted that its service territory is 14 states compared to Comcast’s 39 states.
“That we’re even in a voice race (with Comcast) is curious to us,” said Qwest spokesman Bob Toevs. “Our focus is on delivering a very complete customer experience, including voice, broadband, video and wireless.”
Comcast is the largest cable TV provider in Colorado with about 800,000 subscribers. The firm does not break out its phone service customers by state.
Comcast’s announcement on phone-service growth came as senior executives assembled in Denver to conduct a teleconference with Comcast employees focused on customer service goals.
“There are gaps (in Comcast’s service quality). There’s no question,” said Dave Watson, executive vice president of operations for Philadelphia-based Comcast. “We need to get better and we realize this. Our employees are energized.”
Comcast also said that in June it will launch in Colorado a video version of caller ID — a service that allows customers to see incoming caller information on television and personal computer screens.
Steve Raabe: 303-954-1948 or sraabe@denverpost.com
