• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, May 25, 2006

According to Broadband Across the US, a recent report from the Leichtman Research Group, the twenty largest cable and DSL providers in the US, 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 subscribers.

Other key findings for the quarter include:

• The top DSL providers added 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, 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

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

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