‘Assurance’ is becoming the watch word in the US consumer services space, and for many internet service providers (ISPs), that means keeping consumers connected when their primary access network experiences an outage.

As operators wield increasingly holistic multiservice pitches to angle for ever-larger chunks of consumers’ monthly connectivity spend, service assurance in particular ascends as a buying consideration.

Storm season increases backup connectivity’s functional and positioning heft for ISPs

Summer means something different to everybody. While the larger zeitgeist tends to serve up a lot of ‘fun in the sun’ type imagery once schools go on their seasonal hiatus, warmer weather begins the annual storm watch for plenty of folks in the US, as severe thunderstorm and tornado warnings become rituals for much of the country.

The escalating ferocity of the summer storm season – something which was drawn into terrible, tragic relief with the recent flash flooding in Texas – means a commensurate increase in the potential for disruption. While plenty of outages don’t amount to more than a matter of inconvenience, the fact remains: A steady internet connection is a central requirement for consumers to address scores of their personal and professional needs, and any disruption is anxiety-inducing – all the more so when that disconnection could mean potentially important information not getting through.

ISPs connectivity pitches

Consequently, many US ISPs have made backup internet connectivity part of their pitch to the consumer market. These offerings can range from dedicated backup services to stopgap fallback solutions. While some double as stalking horses for poaching a rivals’ unhappy subscribers, others offer a genuine service experience boon for converged customers. Some leverage owned architecture, while others lean on partner providers.

Comcast bakes ‘Storm-Ready WiFi’ into ‘Xfinity Pro’

Comcast was early in offering cellular internet backup during home broadband outages, launching its initial Storm-Ready WiFi solution way back in August 2023. The offering incorporated a backup battery into the home gateway and enabled an automatic transition from the home WiFi to 4G LTE cellular data, ensuring uninterrupted connectivity via wireless partner Verizon’s network when the primary broadband connection was down.

However, Comcast overhauled its go-to-market approach for home broadband in May 2025, drawing a sharper line between its bare-bones broadband-only plans and its pricier, value-add accoutrement-laden premium offerings. As part of that overhaul, the company discontinued the $7/month Storm-Ready WiFi and rolled its functionality into the $15/month add-on Xfinity Pro subscription.

To be fair, Xfinity Pro offers more than just backup connectivity; subscribers will also get two mesh WiFi extenders for whole-home connectivity and in-app management of which portions of the residence will receive the lowest possible latency at a given moment. However, subscribers who may not need the fancier WiFi bells and whistles or extra indoor coverage are paying more for the backup connectivity assurance.

For FWA, excelling as a backup player could mean landing a bigger part

T-Mobile was the first US operator to launch a commercial 5G fixed wireless access (FWA) offering designed specifically as a dedicated consumer backup connectivity solution. While T-Mobile Home Internet Backup – launched in Q2 2024 and currently boasting a base price of $25/month – is a niche offer aimed at well-heeled homes that experience persistent problems from their primary wireline ISP, it’s also a dress rehearsal for FWA. Each outage from the subscriber’s primary ISP turns into an audition. Nail enough of those and one gets a starring role.

The backup offer is a nice stalking horse for T-Mobile, a carrier that excels at just this kind of market move; other examples would be its early embrace of eSIM-enabled network trials and opening the T-Satellite service to its primary rivals’ subscribers. Consequently, there’s little surprise that Verizon followed suit, launching Verizon WiFi Backup in February 2025. Still, given that Verizon has a substantial fibre footprint in the US – while T-Mobile’s fibre presence is comparatively nascent – one can’t help feeling that Verizon is leaving meat on the bone with its overall multiservice pitch by not making backup cellular connectivity a service inclusive for converged fibre customers.

Assurance and convergence are like peas and carrots

For its part, AT&T recognised that providing automatic cellular failover for customers taking both fibre and mobile service from the operator meant introducing tangible and differentiating service-related convergence value.

AT&T’s backup feature – introduced in December 2024 – promises constant connectivity at no additional cost to customers utilising AT&T’s home fibre service, a cellular device, and an unlimited wireless plan from the carrier. It’s a wise play from AT&T, which has differentiation to gain, owner’s economics to leverage, and loyalty to accrue from a subscriber cohort likely glad to worry about one less thing.