Cable Got 82% of Net New Broadband Access Subs in 4th Quarter 2011

Cable modem service appears to retain its advantage as the preferred broadband access method for 82 percent of net new customers in the fourth quarter of 2011, according to the  Leichtman Research Group. 

The unanswered question is whether there is a pattern to the new adoptions, such as new customers disproportionately reflecting business customer purchases (either direct or reimbursable by an employer, for example).

Most of the new customers were added, as you would expect, by the 18 largest cable and telephone providers. Those 18 firms got about 93 percent of all the three million new customers.  

Perhaps the more telling statistic is that just two cable companies added 72 percent of those customers in 2011. The largest four firms added 89 percent of all new broadband customers for the full year 2011. 

Likewise, the top three telcos--AT&T, Verizon and CenturyLink--added 84 percent of all new net telco-supplied broadband access connections for the full year. But the largest seven telcos collectively added only 750,000 net new broadband subscribers for the full year 2011.

Broadband Internet Provider	Subscribers at End of 4Q 2011	Net Adds in 2011
Cable Companies
Comcast	18,147,000	1,159,000
Time Warner^	10,344,000	491,000
Cox*	4,500,000	130,000
Charter	3,654,600	252,900
Cablevision	2,965,000	73,000
Suddenlink	951,400	65,100
Mediacom	851,000	13,000
Insight^	550,000	25,500
Cable ONE	451,082	25,680
Other Major Private Cable Companies**	1,925,000	55,000
Total Top Cable	44,339,082	2,290,180
Telephone Companies
AT&T	16,427,000	117,000
Verizon	8,670,000	278,000
CenturyLink	5,554,000	238,000
Frontier^^	1,735,000	37,833
Windstream	1,355,300	53,600
FairPoint	314,135	24,390
Cincinnati Bell	257,300	1,200
Total Top Telephone Companies	34,312,735	750,023
Total Broadband	78,651,817	3,040,203

Sources: The Companies and Leichtman Research Group, Inc.
* LRG estimate
** Includes LRG estimates for Bright House Networks, and RCN
^ Totals prior to Time Warner Cable's acquisition of Insight completed on 2/29/2012
^^ LRG estimate does not include wireless subscribers
Company subscriber counts may not represent solely residential households
Totals reflect pro forma results from system sales and acquisitions
Top cable and telephone companies represent approximately 93% of all subscribers