A recent newsletter from the Leichtman Research Group, citing the LRG updated study, Broadband Across the U.S., shows that cable and DSL providers in the U.S., representing about 94% of the market, acquired a record 3.06 million net additional subscribers in the first quarter of 2006. The top broadband providers now account for nearly 46 million high-speed Internet subscribers, with cable having nearly 25.8 million broadband subscribers, and DSL having about 20.2 million.

Other key findings for the quarter include:

• The top DSL providers added a record 1.66 million subscribers, representing 54% of the net broadband additions for the quarter versus cable
• The top cable providers also had a record quarter with over 1.4 million subscribers added
• DSL providers have added more broadband subscribers than cable providers in each of the last six quarters, acquiring over 1.1 million more subscribers than cable during this period, but the top cable broadband providers maintain a 5.6 million subscriber advantage over DSL and have a 56% share of the US residential broadband market versus DSL

In related broadband research, LRG found that as of the middle of last year:

• 85% of cable broadband lines had speeds of over 2.5 mbps in the fastest direction, compared to 14% of DSL lines
• Approximately 11.5% of DSL subscribers were non-residential, compared to 1.8% of cable subscribers
• The top five states in residential broadband penetration were Connecticut, New Jersey, Hawaii, Massachusetts and California
• The bottom five states in residential broadband penetration were Mississippi, South Dakota, North Dakota, Kentucky and Montana

The first quarter of 2006 was the best ever for both DSL and cable broadband providers in net additions of total broadband subscribers, according to recent information culled from a variety of sources, including the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and others.