High-Speed Internet Growth Slowing Down?

Leichtman Research Group (LRG) found that in the second quarter of 2003 the major US cable and DSL providers added a combined total of 1.55 million high-speed Internet subscribers. Net additions for the quarter were the smallest since the second quarter of 2002. As of the end of the second quarter of 2003, the leading cable and DSL providers in the United States accounted for nearly 20.7 million high-speed Internet subscribers.

Other key findings include:

DSL had a greater share of the net additions than in previous quarters. DSL providers had 625,000 net subscribers added in the quarter representing 40% of the net high-speed Internet additions for the quarter. The top cable companies added 930,000 subscribers in the quarter, 320,000 fewer additions than the record-setting growth of the first quarter of 2003.

The top cable operators maintain a 64% share of the overall market versus DSL and now account for over 13.2 million high-speed Internet subscribers, however, every cable provider reported smaller net high-speed Internet growth in the second quarter than in the first quarter of 2003.

SBC was the only provider to report significantly more net additions this quarter than in the previous quarter, adding 304,000 subscribers in the second quarter – 33,000 more than it added in the first quarter of 2003.

“With the addition of over 1.5 million net new subscribers in the second quarter of 2003, high-speed Internet remains a very healthy business,” said Bruce Leichtman, president and principal analyst for Leichtman Research Group, Inc. “While caution should be shown in making major assumptions based on the quarterly figures, there were some interesting changes from previous quarters that should be watched closely to see if these results become trends.”

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