Leichtman Research Group (LRG) finds that, as of the end of 2002, the leading cable and DSL providers in the United States accumulated a total of over 17.4 million high-speed Internet subscribers.
The year also saw record growth as the major U.S. cable and DSL providers added a combined 6.4 million subscribers during the past year.
LRG forecasts that the total number of broadband cable and
DSL Internet subscribers in the U.S. will surpass the number of dial-up/narrowband subscribers in 2005 and will grow to nearly 49 million by the end of 2007.
Other key findings include:
Broadband Internet subscriber growth in 2002 was the highest ever, exceeding 2001's 5.4 million net additions. The top cable companies netted 67% of the broadband additions for the
year, with cable adding 4.3 million broadband Internet subscribers compared to 2.1 million added by the major DSL providers over the same time period. The top cable operators now account for
over 11.25 million Broadband Internet subscribers, maintaining a 65% share of the market versus DSL. "The expectations for broadband growth have come to fruition as 12 million U.S. subscribers have
added DSL or cable Internet services in the past two years," said Bruce Leichtman, president and principal analyst for Leichtman Research Group, Inc. "While the future for broadband continues to look
bright, new challenges for growth will arise as the need to attract a more price sensitive consumer base increases."
