U.S. network operators collectively increased capex spending at modest levels during the first half of the year, but the hikes weren’t even, according to GlobalData.

The group of nine U.S. operators analyzed by GlobalData combined for a total year-over-year capex increase of 7.2% during the first six months of 2021 to $38.5 billion. The first wave of COVID-19 dampened investment during the same period last year when operators cumulatively increased capex by 3.3% to $35.9 billion, explained John Byrne, service director at GlobalData, in a blog post. 

T-Mobile US stands out as the carrier with the largest year-over-year increase in capex spending, boosting its investment by 62.5% during the first half of 2021 to $6.5 billion. 

The carrier’s aggressive 5G network deployment puts it on pace to cover 200 million people with its mid-band 5G network by the end of this year. T-Mobile’s low-band 5G network now covers 305 million people. The operator recently increased its full-year capex guidance to a range of $12 billion to $12.3 billion for 2021.

T-Mobile accounted for the entire capex gain during the period. If not for the carrier's $2.5 billion year-over-year capex increase, total industry capex would have jumped just under 0.3%.

AT&T and Verizon were much more conservative on capex spending during the first half of 2021. AT&T increased capex by 1.85% year over year to $11 billion during the six-month period and increased its full-year capex guidance to $17 billion. However, AT&T executives more recently warned that supply chain challenges will impact its accelerated fiber deployment plans, likely leading to a decrease in full-year capex spending levels.

Verizon’s capex declined 12% during the six-month period to $8.7 billion. It was the only nationwide mobile network operator to post a capex decline during the period, and it reported a 15% year-over-year decline in capex during second-quarter 2021. 

After spending $52.9 billion to acquire C-band spectrum for its mid-band 5G network, Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg committed to a cumulative $10 billion capex increase through early 2024 to deploy a mid-band 5G network on that spectrum. Most of that increase will occur in 2022 and 2023.

“GlobalData estimates that the big three operators that account for nearly 70% of total U.S. capex — AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile — spent just over $26 billion, up 61% from the first half of 2020,” Byrne wrote.

Charter increased capex by 12% year over year to $3.7 billion during the first half of the year, followed by Comcast’s nearly 15% capex increase to $3.1 billion, according to GlobalData. Lumen’s capex declined 4% to $2.4 billion, and U.S. Cellular posted a capex increase of 17.6% during the same period to $2 billion.

First-half 2021 capex spending at Frontier jumped 60% to $800 million and Altice’s capex was flat at $500 million, according to GlobalData.

“Overall, U.S. operators appear poised to post a 3% to 4% increase in full-year capex compared to 2020,” Byrne concluded.