Research: 825K Q3 US broadband ads
November 16, 2022
Findings from Leichtman Research Group indicate that the largest cable and wireline phone providers and fixed wireless services in the US – representing about 96 per cent of the market – acquired about 825,000 net additional broadband Internet subscribers in Q3 2022, similar to a pro forma gain of about 820,000 subscribers in Q3 2021.
These top broadband providers account for about 110.8 million subscribers, with top cable companies having about 75.6 million broadband subscribers, top wireline phone companies having over 32 million subscribers, and top fixed wireless services having about 3.2 million subscribers.
Findings for the quarter include:
- Overall, broadband additions in Q3 2022 were 101 per cent of those in Q3 2021
- The top cable companies added about 40,000 subscribers in Q3 2022 – compared to about 590,000 net adds in Q3 2021
- The top wireline phone companies lost about 135,000 total broadband subscribers in Q3 2022 – compared to about 40,000 net adds in Q3 2021
- Wireline Telcos had about 550,000 net adds via fibre in Q3 2022, and about 685,000 non-fibre net losses
- Fixed wireless/5G home Internet services from T-Mobile and Verizon added about 920,000 subscribers in Q3 2022 – compared to about 190,000 net adds in Q3 2021
“Top broadband providers added about 825,000 subscribers in Q3 2022, including 920,000 net adds for fixed wireless services, along with a minor gain for cable, and net losses for wireline phone providers,” said Bruce Leichtman, president and principal analyst for Leichtman Research Group. “Over the past year, fixed wireless services have accounted for nearly 80 per cent of the approximately 3,260,000 net broadband additions.”
| Broadband Providers | Subscribers at end of Q3 2022 | Net Adds in Q3 2022 |
| Cable Companies | ||
| Comcast | 32,177,000 | 14,000 |
| Charter | 30,328,000 | 75,000 |
| Cox* | 5,560,000 | 0 |
| Altice | 4,290,600 | (43,000) |
| Mediacom* | 1,468,000 | 0 |
| Cable One** | 1,062,000 | 3,000 |
| Breezeline** | 707,954 | (9,965) |
| Total Top Cable | 75,593,554 | 39,035 |
| Wireline Phone Companies | ||
| AT&T | 15,452,000 | (57,000) |
| Verizon | 7,447,000 | 35,000 |
| Lumen | 4,256,000 | (121,000) |
| Frontier | 2,831,000 | 4,000 |
| Windstream | 1,175,000 | (3,500) |
| TDS | 506,500 | 5,700 |
| Consolidated | 381,912 | 699 |
| Total Top Wireline Phone | 32,049,412 | (136,101) |
| Fixed Wireless Services | ||
| T-Mobile | 2,122,000 | 578,000 |
| Verizon^ | 1,063,000 | 342,000 |
| Total Top Fixed Wireless | 3,185,000 | 920,000 |
| Total Top Broadband | 110,827,966 | 822,934 |
Sources: The Companies and Leichtman Research Group, Inc.
* LRG estimate
** Includes LRG estimate of pro forma net adds
^ Verizon adjusted net adds and totals for fixed wireless from prior quarters
TDS residential subscribers, includes 302,000 wireline subscribers and 204,500 cable subscribers
Company subscriber counts may not solely represent residential households – about 6.5 per cent of the total are non-residential
Top broadband providers 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