US Broadband Internet Users Reach 19 Million

DURHAM, N.H., May 21 -- The leading cable and DSL providers in the US now account for more than 19 million high-speed Internet subscribers, reports the Leichtman Research Group. The first quarter of 2003 saw record quarterly growth as the major US cable and DSL providers added a combined total of nearly 1.9 million subscribers during the quarter, according to the market analysis firm.

In a recent study, Leichtman found that the top cable companies acquired 65 percent of the net broadband additions for the quarter, with cable adding 1.23 million broadband Internet subscribers in the quarter compared to 650,000 added by the major DSL providers. The top cable operators now account for over 12.25 million broadband Internet subscribers, maintaining a 64 percent share of the market versus DSL. The top ten US cable providers have broadband Internet available to 87 million potential subscribers -- about 84 percent of their cumulative footprint -- and nearly 14 percent of all those who could get broadband Internet currently subscribe.

"Both cable and DSL had record-setting quarters in the first quarter of 2003, but cable continued the trend of adding nearly twice as many subscribers as DSL," said Bruce Leichtman, president and principal analyst for Leichtman Research Group. "It will be very interesting to see if the lower-priced offerings recently introduced by major DSL providers have an impact on cable’s dominance in the second quarter of 2003."

For more information, visit: www.LeichtmanResearch.com