Study: 645,000 new broadband subscriptions in 3Q 2015

A Leichtman Research Group (LRG) study found that in the third quarter of 2015 the country’s largest cable and telephone companies added 645,000 new high-speed Internet subscriptions. Total broadband subscriptions is now more than 89 million – “with top cable companies having about 54.3 million broadband subscribers, and top telephone companies having 35.2 million subscribers,” the study found.

Cable companies added 787,629 subscribers in 3Q of 2015. Comcast added 320,000 subscriptions and Time Warner Cable added 246,000 subscriptions. The study also found that, although the “telephone companies” lost more than 143,000 DSL subscribers, AT&T’s U-verse and Verizon’s FiOS added 305,000 subscriptions. AT&T lost 129,000 broadband subscribers and Verizon gained 2,000. Frontier added 27,000 subscribers.

"While major providers now account for nearly 90 million broadband subscribers in the US, top cable providers added subscribers at a faster pace over the past year than they did over the prior year," LRG’s president and principal analyst Bruce Leichtman said. "Over the past year, cable companies accounted for 103% of the 2.93 million net broadband additions."

LRG’s breakdown of the study:

About 645,000 Add Broadband in Third Quarter of 2015 (Leichtman Research Group, Nov. 17, 2015)