Cable Companies Have Lead the U.S. Internet Access Market for 3 Decades

The U.S. fixed network internet access market is somewhat unusual in that cable TV companies absolutely dominate the installed base and market share gains. Of 101,222,628 total subscriptions, cable operators have 69 percent of the installed base, and in 2018 had 3,144,657  of 2,525,052 total net account additions. 

Since telcos lost nearly 620,000 accounts, cable operators had more than 100 percent of all the net additions. 

That leadership of the fixed network internet access market by cable operators has grown for about three decades. 

source: US Telecom

Cable Companies	Subscribers, 4Q 2019	Net Adds
Comcast	28,629,000	1,407,000
Charter	26,664,000	1,405,000
Cox*	5,170,000	110,000
Altice	4,187,300	71,900
Mediacom	1,328,000	64,000
WOW (WideOpenWest)	781,500	21,900
Cable One**	773,000	39,000
Atlantic Broadband	451,463	25,857
Total	67,984,263	3,144,657

source: Leichtman Research

AT&T	15,389,000	(312,000)
Verizon	6,956,000	(5,000)
CenturyLink	4,678,000	(134,000)
Frontier^	3,500,000	(235,000)
Windstream	1,049,300	28,300
Consolidated	784,165	5,195
TDS	455,200	31,800
Cincinnati Bell	426,700	1,100
Total	33,238,365	(619,605)

source: Leichtman Research

Those statistics suggest why 5G fixed wireless access might be so important: it could be the only way telcos actually halt the erosion of market share, and possibly become competitive again in internet access. 

That would presumably also allow T-Mobile to enter the market for the first time.