U.S. broadband subscriber counts continue to climb: Kagan
U.S. broadband subscriber adds in the second quarter of 2021, while not as robust as seen during the same quarter of last year, continued to be strong, according to Kagan, a media research group within S&P Global Market Intelligence. Broadband service providers attracted approximately 945,000 new subscribers during the quarter, a figure that far outstripped performance from the second quarter 2019.
Combined residential cable, telco, and satellite broadband subscribers in the U.S. exceeded 109.2 million at the end of the second quarter. This figure is an increase of 4.3% annually, with nearly 4.5 million net adds year over year, according to Kagan. Total U.S. wireline broadband residential penetration grew to more than 83% by the end of the quarter – 84.5% if satellite-based broadband services are included.
However, it wasn’t necessarily a good quarter for satellite-based broadband providers, as this segment lost 24,000 U.S. subscribers during the quarter, even as Starlink began to establish early momentum. On the other hand, cable operators ended the quarter in a good mood. The cable MSOs enjoyed 1.9 million residential and commercial net adds during the first two quarters of 2021, accounting for 96% of broadband customer gains across the U.S. broadband market during that time. Meanwhile enthusiasm for FTTH upgrades enabled telco wireline broadband net adds to flourish, albeit at relative magnitudes compared with cable. Telco performance showed what Kagen called “a dramatic improvement” over the space’s second quarter track record since 2016.
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Stephen Hardy | Editorial Director and Associate Publisher, Lightwave
Stephen Hardy is editorial director and associate publisher of Lightwave and Broadband Technology Report, part of the Lighting & Technology Group at Endeavor Business Media. Stephen is responsible for establishing and executing editorial strategy across the both brands’ websites, email newsletters, events, and other information products. He has covered the fiber-optics space for more than 20 years, and communications and technology for more than 35 years. During his tenure, Lightwave has received awards from Folio: and the American Society of Business Press Editors (ASBPE) for editorial excellence. Prior to joining Lightwave in 1997, Stephen worked for Telecommunications magazine and the Journal of Electronic Defense.
Stephen has moderated panels at numerous events, including the Optica Executive Forum, ECOC, and SCTE Cable-Tec Expo. He also is program director for the Lightwave Innovation Reviews and the Diamond Technology Reviews.
He has written numerous articles in all aspects of optical communications and fiber-optic networks, including fiber to the home (FTTH), PON, optical components, DWDM, fiber cables, packet optical transport, optical transceivers, lasers, fiber optic testing, and more.
You can connect with Stephen on LinkedIn as well as Twitter.