2.9 Million Add High-Speed Internet In The US
The nineteen largest cable and telephone providers in the US – representing about 94% of the market – acquired over 2.9 million net additional high-speed internet subscribers in the first quarter of 2007, according to new research from Leichtman Research Group.
The top telephone companies added 1.49 million subscribers, representing 51% of the net broadband additions for the quarter versus cable, says LRG.
The top cable providers had a record tying quarter with about 1.45 million subscribers added – nearly the same as in the first quarter of 2006.
Telephone companies have added more broadband subscribers than cable providers in each of the last ten quarters, acquiring about 1.86 million more subscribers than cable over that time, but this quarter saw the smallest difference between telephone and cable companies in the past ten quarters.
The top cable broadband providers have a 55% share of the market, with a 5.3 million subscriber advantage over the telephone companies.
| US High Speed Internet Q1 2007 | ||
| Broadband Internet Provider | Subscribers at End of 1Q 2007 | Net Adds in 1Q 2007 |
| Cable Companies | ||
| Comcast | 12,050,000 | 563,000 |
| Time Warner | 7,000,000 | 356,000 |
| Cox* | 3,495,000 | 160,000 |
| Charter | 2,525,900 | 123,900 |
| Cablevision | 2,118,000 | 79,000 |
| Insight | 656,000 | 44,800 |
| Mediacom | 600,000 | 22,000 |
| Cable One | 308,089 | 19,079 |
| RCN* | 280,000 | 5,000 |
| Other Major Private Cable Companies** | 1,720,000 | 75,000 |
| Total Top Cable | 39,752,989 | 1,447,779 |
| Telephone Companies^ | ||
| AT&T | 12,855,000 | 690,000 |
| Verizon | 7,398,000 | 416,000 |
| Qwest | 2,305,000 | 167,000 |
| Embarq | 1,104,000 | 87,000 |
| Windstream* | 710,000 | 53,868 |
| Citizens^^ | 464,055 | 20,300 |
| CenturyTel | 413,000 | 44,000 |
| Cincinnati Bell* | 208,000 | 9,700 |
| Total Top Telephone Companies | 25,457,055 | 1,487,868 |
| Total Broadband | 56,210,044 | 2,935,647 |
| Sources: The Companies and Leichtman Research Group, Inc. | ||
| * LRG estimate | ||
| ** Includes LRG estimates for BrightHouse Networks and Suddenlink | ||
| ^ Top telephone companies now include Citizens Communications, replacing Covad from previous releases to better reflect the consumer market | ||
| ^^ Citizens includes the acquisition of Commonwealth | ||
| Totals reflect pro forma results from system sales and acquisitions | ||
| Company subscriber counts may not represent solely residential households | ||
Bruce Leichtman, president and principal analyst for Leichtman Research Group, said: “Cable’s record success in the first quarter of 2007 is emblematic of the industry’s ability to evolve beyond its core television heritage.
“The top cable companies now have over 30 million broadband subscribers, and about 10 million telephone subscribers, to complement their enhanced TV offerings.”
The most recent Ofcom Digital Progress Report on the UK broadband market revealed that half (50%) of all UK adults lived in households with a broadband connection in Q4 2006 (see Half Of UK Adults Live In Broadband Households).
Meanwhile, eMarketer said that at the end of 2006 there were approximately 251 million broadband households worldwide (see 251 Million Broadband Households Worldwide).