The number of U.S. high-speed-data subscribers increased to 15.6 million at
the end of the third quarter, according to Leichtman Research Group Inc., with
the addition of 1.68 million new subscribers among cable and
digital-subscriber-line providers.
LRG said the increase represented the best quarter this year and exceeded
total year-over-year net additions by 400,000 subscribers.
Cable added more than 1.1 million subscribers in the quarter, or 68 percent
of the total, while DSL added 540,000. Cable continues to maintain its 2-to-1
margin in high-speed-data additions.
At this rate, high-speed subscriptions should pass the 20 million mark by
next spring. Content providers have often pointed to the 20 million figure as a
key metric for broadband-content creation.
