Broadband Growth In U.S. - 1.3 Million New Q3 2008 Customers

Leichtman Research Group, Inc. (LRG) has just published a short report that looks at the twenty largest telco and cable companies in the United States. These twenty companies represent 66.7 million (94% of U.S. market) customers. Here's a breakdown of some of the information in the report:

• Cable companies have 36.5 million broadband subscribers.
• Telephone companies have 30.2 million broadband subscribers.
• The top cable companies added over 870,000 subscribers, representing 67% of the net broadband additions for the quarter versus the top telephone companies.
  
• Overall, broadband additions in 3Q 2008 amounted to 61% of those in 3Q 2007 – with cable having 82% as many additions as a year ago, and Telcos 40.
  
• The top cable broadband providers have a 55% share of the overall market, with a 6.3 million subscriber advantage over the top telephone companies.

Bruce Leichtman, president and principal analyst for Leichtman is quoted in the report:

Over the past two quarters the top cable providers accounted for 71% of the net broadband additions, adding over 900,000 more broadband subscribers than the top telcos. Cable’s recent success compared to the telcos should not necessarily be interpreted as consumers suddenly choosing cable’s speed advantage over that of the telcos' DSL service. It is more a function of the telcos' shift in focus towards higher value subscribers while cable has been consistent in marketing broadband as part of its nearly ubiquitously available Triple Play bundles.

The report includes a very nice chart that breaks down subscriber numbers for all 20 of the companies. You can view the online version and download a PDF here.