Signs of Trouble for ISPs?

It’s always difficult for internet service providers to fully understand how changes in the economy might impact them. Folks in the industry see the usual statistics on unemployment and inflation, but those don’t really tell much about the future as it relates to broadband adoption. I’m not an economist, and this blog is not a prediction, but in the last few weeks, I’ve heard a number of unrelated economic statistics that I find troublesome when taken as a whole.

• MVPDs like Hulu, Sling TV, and Fubo are all reporting a significant loss of subscriptions. At the same time, the free ad-supported video services like Pluto TV and Tubi are seeing big customer gains. The press that covers these companies believe that subscription losses are mostly due to households cutting back on spending.
• A Washington Post article reported that the number of households being cut off for nonpayment of electric and gas utility bills is climbing.
• The delinquency rate for mortgages has been increasing. In the fourth quarter of 2025, the national rate was 4.26%, up 28 basis points from a year earlier.
• Auto loan delinquencies are at the highest level in thirty years, and in early 2026, 6.9% of loans were 60 days overdue. More than 3 million cars were repossessed in 2025, a huge increase over prior years.
• The U.S. consumer sentiment survey taken in April 2026 showed an historically low level of consumer confidence. This survey has been conducted monthly for the last 74 years by the University of Michigan. 22% of the respondents to the April survey reported deteriorating personal finances.
• It seems like I’m seeing a new announcement almost daily from companies that are laying off thousands of employees or shutting down outlets or factories. Meta, Microsoft, and Oracle all recently announced huge layoffs. While there are always announcements of this sort, even in a robust economy, I can’t remember the last time I saw this volume of announcements.

None of this sounds like good news for ISPs. There has always been a general consensus in the industry that broadband is somewhat recession-proof. But is it really?