The top broadband providers in the US accounted for over 42.8 million high-speed internet subscribers in 2005, with cable broadband providers now having a 57% share of the overall market.
According to a new report from Leichtman Research Group, cable accounted for over 24.5 million high-speed internet connections, compared to 18.5 million for digital subscriber lines (DSL) in 2005.
The top DSL providers netted an impressive 54% of the broadband additions in 2005, adding over 5.2 million broadband subscribers. Cable operators increased their subscription base by around 4.4 million in 2005.
Commenting on the report’s findings, Bruce Leichtman, president and principal analyst for Leichtman Research Group, said: “With about 10 million broadband subscribers in the US in 2005, the number of net broadband additions has increased every year this decade.”
He continued: “Cable operators have added virtually the same number of broadband subscribers in each of the past three years, while DSL providers have grown the market primarily by offering lower priced services.”
The continued growth of broadband is confirmed by new figures from Nielsen/NetRatings, showing that penetration in the US grew by 13% last year, reaching 95.5 million homes, meaning that 68% of active internet households use broadband to connect to the internet (see 68% Of US Homes Go Online Via Broadband).
Broadband now accounts for the majority of all internet connections, with recent data from Ipsos Public affairs showing that 61% of online households in the US used broadband by December 2005, compared to 37% using dial-up (see Consumers Still Use Dial-Up).
This trend is mirrored in the UK, with the Office of National Statistics (ONS) claiming that broadband connections made up 64.2% of connections by December 2005, opposed to dial-up at 35.8% (see Broadband Accounts For 64% Of UK Internet Connections).
According to WPP’s recent OgilvyOne Report, Europe has overtaken North America as the second largest broadband market in the world (see Europe Pushes Broadband Uptake Forward).
The report states that by the end of 2006 the top three countries in terms of broadband penetration will be the Netherlands at 56%, Switzerland with 51% and Denmark at 49%.
Total online household penetration in Western Europe is forecast to reach 63% by 2010, with 93% of online households expected to use broadband to access the internet.
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