Skip to main content

U.S. Broadband Service Additions Declined in 2009

Broadband service delivery in the United States is highly concentrated -- with most new subscriber additions still going to the very largest service providers, as new competition continues to elude the marketplace.

Leichtman Research Group, Inc. (LRG) found that the nineteen largest cable and telephone providers in the U.S. market -- representing about 93 percent of the market -- acquired nearly 4.1 million net additional high-speed Internet subscribers in 2009.

Annual net broadband additions in 2009 were 75 percent of the total in 2008.

The top broadband providers now account for nearly 71.8 million subscribers -- with cable companies having 39.3 million broadband subscribers, and telephone companies having 32.5 million subscribers.

The market status-quo remains intact, with no immediate signs of progressive change on the horizon.

Highlights from the Leichtman market study include:

- The top cable companies netted 57 percent of the broadband additions in 2009.

- The top cable companies added over 2.3 million broadband subscribers in 2009, 73 percent of the total net additions for the top cable companies in 2008.

- The top telephone providers added over 1.7 million broadband subscribers in 2009, 78 percent of the total net additions for the top telephone companies in 2008.

- In the fourth quarter of 2009, cable and telephone providers added 890,000 broadband subscribers, with cable companies adding about 580,000 subscribers and phone companies adding about 310,000 subscribers in the quarter.

"The top broadband providers in the U.S. accounted for 71.8 million at the end of 2009, an increase of nearly 39 million subscribers in the past five years," said Bruce Leichtman, president and principal analyst for Leichtman Research Group.

The task of igniting new substantive broadband service market development in the U.S. now awaits action from the FCC and/or Congress. Clearly, there's little hope for meaningful broadband adoption progress under the current market conditions.

Popular posts from this blog

Think Global, Pay Local: The eCommerce Paradox

The world of eCommerce payments has evolved. As we look toward the latter half of this decade, we're witnessing a transformation in how digital commerce operates, with a clear shift toward localized payment solutions within a global marketplace. The numbers tell a compelling story. According to Juniper Research's latest analysis, global eCommerce transactions are set to reach $11.4 trillion by 2029, marking a 63 percent increase from $7 trillion in 2024. This growth isn't just about volume – it's about fundamental changes in how people pay for goods and services online. Perhaps most striking is the projected dominance of Alternative Payment Methods (APMs), which are expected to account for 69 percent of global transactions by 2029, with 360 billion transactions processed through these channels. eCommerce Payments Market Development What makes this shift particularly interesting is how it reflects the democratization of digital commerce. Traditional card-based systems ar...