According to the Leichtman Research Group, the largest cable and telephone providers in the United States - representing about 95% of the market - acquired about 945,000 net additional broadband Internet subscribers in 1Q 2019, compared to a pro forma gain of about 815,000 subscribers in 1Q 2018.
The top broadband providers now account for 98.7 million subscribers, with top cable companies having 65.3 million broadband subscribers, and top telcos having 33.4 million.
Among the findings:
Overall, broadband additions in 1Q 2019 were 116% of those in 1Q 2018.
The top cable companies added about 925,000 subscribers in 1Q 2019, 109% of the net adds for the top cable companies in 1Q 2018.
The top telcos added about 20,000 subscribers in 1Q 2019, compared to a net loss of about 35,000 subscribers in 1Q 2018. 1Q 2019 was the first quarter with net broadband additions for the telcos since 1Q 2016.
At the end 1Q 2019, cable had a 66% market share vs. 34% for telcos, compared to 63% cable vs. 37% Telco at the end of 1Q 2017.
"With the addition of 945,000 subscribers in the quarter, top broadband providers in the U.S. cumulatively now account for about 98.7 million subscribers," said Bruce Leichtman, president and principal analyst for LRG. "Over the past year, there were about 2,595,000 net broadband adds, compared to about 2,000,000 net adds over the prior year."