US Q3: 1.5m broadband subs added
November 23, 2020
Findings from the Leichtman Research Group (LRG) indicate that the largest cable and wireline phone providers in the US – representing about 96 per cent of the market – acquired about 1,530,000 net additional broadband Internet subscribers in Q3 2020, compared to a pro forma gain of about 615,000 subscribers in Q3 2019.
These top broadband providers now account for about 104.9 million subscribers, with top cable companies having about 72 million broadband subscribers, and top wireline phone companies having about 32.9 million subscribers.
Findings for the quarter include:
- Overall, broadband additions in Q3 2020 were about 915,000 more than in Q3 2019
- Broadband additions in Q3 2020 were the most in any quarter since 1Q 2009
- The top cable companies added about 1,320,000 subscribers in Q3 2020 – compared to a net gain of about 830,000 subscribers in Q3 2019
- Cable broadband had over one million net adds for the third consecutive quarter – the first time since Q3 2006-1Q 2007
- Comcast’s 633,000 net adds in Q3 2020 were more than in any quarter in the past fifteen years
- The top wireline phone companies added about 210,000 subscribers in Q3 2020 – compared to a net loss of about 220,000 subscribers in Q3 2019
“With the continued impact of the coronavirus pandemic, there were more quarterly net broadband additions in Q3 2020 than in any quarter in over eleven years,” said Bruce Leichtman, president and principal analyst for LRG. “Over the past year, there were about 4,550,000 net broadband adds, compared to about 2,550,000 net broadband adds over the prior year. This marks the most broadband net adds in a year since Q3 2008-2Q 2009.”
| Broadband Providers | Subscribers at end of Q3 2020 | Net Adds in Q3 2020 |
| Cable Companies | ||
| Comcast | 30,062,000 | 633,000 |
| Charter | 28,633,000 | 537,000 |
| Cox* | 5,330,000 | 50,000 |
| Altice** | 4,363,500 | 26,000 |
| Mediacom | 1,425,000 | 29,000 |
| Cable One** | 865,000 | 27,000 |
| WOW (WideOpenWest) | 808,900 | 3,300 |
| Atlantic Broadband | 492,212 | 13,523 |
| Total Top Cable | 71,979,612 | 1,318,823 |
| Wireline Phone Companies | ||
| AT&T | 15,375,000 | 174,000 |
| Verizon | 7,069,000 | 110,000 |
| CenturyLink/Lumen^ | 4,563,000 | (75,000) |
| Frontier | 3,119,000 | (23,000) |
| Windstream | 1,102,300 | 12,900 |
| Consolidated | 792,211 | 1,008 |
| TDS | 487,700 | 8,200 |
| Cincinnati Bell | 434,500 | 2,500 |
| Total Top Telco | 32,942,711 | 210,608 |
| Total Top Broadband | 104,922,323 | 1,529,431 |
Sources: The Companies and Leichtman Research Group, Inc.
* LRG estimate
** Includes recent small acquisition
^ CenturyLink was renamed Lumen Technologies in Q3 2020
TDS includes 281,500 wireline broadband subscribers, and 206,200 cable broadband subscribers
Company subscriber counts may not solely represent residential households – about 6 per cent of the total are non-residential
Top cable and wireline phone companies represent approximately 96 per cent of all subscribers
Net additions reflect pro forma results from system sales and acquisitions, reporting adjustments, and the addition of new providers to the list – therefore, comparing totals in this release to prior releases will not produce accurate findings