Friday, March 5, 2021

U.S. Telcos Add Internet Access Accounts in 2020, First Gain Since 2014

U.S. fixed network telcos gained less than one percent of the net internet access account additions in 2020, which might seem paltry, but at least was not a net loss, as has been the case so often over the past 20 years. Cable ISPs gained more than 99 percent of the net new accounts in 2020. 


In 2019 the top telcos lost more than half a million accounts. In fact, the annual net gain, though small, was the first gain since 2014. 


Cable Companies

Subscribers, end 2020

Net Additions 2020

Comcast

30,600,000

1,971,000

Charter

28,879,000

2,215,000

Cox*

5,380,000

210,000

Altice**

4,359,200

142,200

Mediacom

1,438,000

110,000

Cable One**

857,000

101,000

WOW (WideOpenWest)

813,800

32,300

Atlantic Broadband

504,621

37,871

Cable Total

72,831,621

4,819,371



Telcos

Subs, end 2020

Net Additions 2020

AT&T

15,384,000

(5,000)

Verizon

7,129,000

173,000

CenturyLink/Lumen

4,544,000

(134,000)

Frontier^

3,100,000

(111,000)

Windstream

1,109,300

60,000

Consolidated

792,200

8,035

TDS

493,300

38,100

Cincinnati Bell

436,100

10,400

Total Telco

32,987,900

39,535

Total ISP

105,819,521

4,858,906

source: Leichtman Research Group 


At the end of 2020, U.S. cable ISPs held 69 percent of the installed base, telcos about 31 percent.


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