CHART CLOSE-UP FROM THE STORY:
8.5MM Broadband Subscriptions Added in '07 - Fewest Since '03 »
scroll down to read the full story

8.5MM Broadband Subscriptions Added in '07 - Fewest Since '03

The 19 largest cable and telephone providers in the US - accounting for about 94% of the market - acquired over 8.5 million net additional high-speed internet subscribers in 2007, according to Leichtman Research Group, Inc. (LRG).

Annual net broadband additions were down from the record 10.4 million in 2006, and 9.9 million in 2005, and were the fewest since 2003, Leichtman said.

The top broadband providers now account for over 61.9 million subscribers - with cable companies having 33.5 million broadband subscribers (54%), and telephone companies having over 28.4 million (46%).

Other key findings:

• The top telephone providers added 4.4 million broadband subscribers in 2007 - compared with 5.65 million in 2006 and 5.4 million in 2005.
• Cable operators added a 4.1 million broadband subscribers in 2007 - compared with 4.8 million in 2006 and 4.5 million in 2005.
• The top telephone providers netted 52% of the broadband additions in 2007.
• In the fourth quarter of 2007, cable and telephone providers added over 1.75 million broadband subscribers - with telephone companies adding over 900,000 subscribers and cable companies adding about 850,000 subscribers.

“Net broadband additions in the US peaked in 2006, yet there were still over 8.5 million new broadband subscribers added in 2007,” said Bruce Leichtman, president and principal analyst for LRG. “The broadband market is clearly maturing, but the broadband subscriber base will continue to grow for many more years.”