U.S. cable operators again dominated the broadband landscape in Q1 2016 as the top MSOs added nearly 1.1 million high-speed Internet subs in the period, accounting for 99% of the net broadband adds when compared to the nation’s largest telcos.
That’s according to a new market tally of the nation’s largest MSOs and telcos, representing 95% of the U.S. market, issued Monday by Leichtman Research Group (LRG).
Those top broadband providers now account for over 91.5 million subscribers – with top cable MSOs having 56.3 million of them, versus 35.2 million among the top telcos.
Overall, Q1 broadband adds were 92% of those in the year-ago quarter. The top cable ops added 1.06 million broadband subs in Q1 2016, compared to 10,000 for the nation’s largest telcos, down from a year-ago gain of 160,000, LRG said.
Broken down further, AT&T and Verizon added 300,000 subs via U-verse and Fios in Q1 alongside a net loss of 324,000 DSL subs.
Over the past year, the nation’s largest cable and telco ISPs added 3.03 million net broadband subs, about the same (3 million) added during the prior 12-month period.
“Cable companies had another strong quarter for broadband in 1Q 2016, adding over one million subscribers. This marks the third time in the past five quarters that cable companies have added over a million net broadband subscribers,” Bruce Leichtman, president and principal analyst for LRG, said in a statement. “Broadband in the US continues to grow, with cable providers accounting for 111% of the three million net broadband additions over the past year.”
