A total of 1.55 million new subscribers signed up to receive broadband access from a major US cable or DSL provider in the second quarter of 2003, according to latest figures from Leichtman Research Group.
The leading providers now account for almost 20.7 million high-speed internet subscribers although net additions for the last quarter were the smallest since the second quarter of 2002. This adds weight to the argument that broadband growth is receding but analysts are more confident about the second half of 2003 (see
Dial-Up Delays To Drive Broadband Adoption In H2).
Cable maintained a 64% share of the overall market against DSL and with 930,000 new customers now accounts for more than 13.2 million high-speed internet subscribers. Nonetheless, every cable provider reported smaller net high-speed internet growth in the second quarter than in the first quarter of 2003 (see US Broadband Internet Subs Top 19m).
Leichtman reports that DSL providers had 625,000 net subscribers added in the quarter and with 40% of all additions, they achieved a greater share of new business than in previous quarters.
| US Broadband Internet Subscribers Q2 2003 |
| |
|
|
| |
Net Additions |
Total |
| Major Cable Providers |
930,641 |
13,235,340 |
| Major DSL Providers |
625,178 |
7,431,178 |
| All Major Providers |
1,555,819 |
20,666,518 |
| Source: Leichtman Research Group, August 2003 |
“With the addition of over 1.5 million net new subscribers in the second quarter of 2003, high-speed internet remains a very healthy business,” said Bruce Leichtman, president and principal analyst for Leichtman Research Group. “While caution should be shown in making major assumptions based on the quarterly figures, there were some interesting changes from previous quarters that should be watched closely to see if these results become trends.”
