• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, May 27, 2011

In a new release from the Leichtman Research Group, the nineteen largest cable and telephone providers in the US, representing about 93% of the market, acquired nearly 1.3 million net additional high-speed Internet subscribers in the first quarter of 2011.  These top broadband providers now account for 76.6 million subscribers, with cable companies having 42.6 million broadband subscribers, and telephone companies having almost 34 million subscribers.

Other broadband findings for the quarter include:

• Overall, broadband additions in 1Q 2011 amounted to 90% of those in 1Q 2010, with cable having 91% as many additions as a year ago, and Telcos 87% as many additions as a year ago
• The top cable companies added over 850,000 subscribers, representing 67% of the net broadband additions for the quarter versus the top telephone companies
• Comcast added 418,000 broadband subscribers in 1Q 2011, the most in any quarter since 1Q 2008
• The top cable broadband providers have a 56% share of the overall market, with over 8.6 million more subscribers than the top telephone companies, compared to 7.4 million a year ago

 Bruce Leichtman, president and principal analyst for Leichtman Research Group, says "... net broadband additions in 1Q 2011 were over 430,000 more than in 4Q 2010... Cable providers... acquired two-thirds of the net broadband additions, with Comcast alone accounting for nearly one-third of all net adds... " 

Broadband Internet
	Subscribers at end of 1Q 2011	Net Adds in 1Q 2011
Cable Companies
Comcast	17,406,000	418,000
Time Warner	9,992,000	189,000
Cox*	4,400,000	30,000
Charter	3,334,000	87,900
Cablevision	2,927,000	32,000
Suddenlink	857,100	30,800
Insight	535,700	11,200
Cable ONE	440,215	14,813
Other major private cable companies**	2,747,000	39,000
Total Top Cable	42,639,015	852,713
Telephone Companies
AT&T	16,485,000	175,000
Verizon	8,490,000	98,000
Qwest^	2,965,000	51,000
CenturyLink^	2,446,000	52,000
Windstream	1,707,678	10,511
Frontier	1,331,700	28,800
FairPoint	297,491	7,746
Cincinnati Bell	258,500	2,400
Total Top Telephone Companies	33,981,369	425,457
Total Broadband	76,620,384	1,278,170
Sources:  The Companies and Leichtman Research Group, May 2011 (Top cable and telephone companies represent approximately 93% of all subscribers)

For additional information, please visit LRG here.