Tuesday, May 17, 2016

High Speed Access Up, Video Flat, Voice Down in U.S. Fixed Network Business

It is easy enough to describe the fundamental trends in the U.S. fixed network consumer services business. People are adding high speed access accounts. The linear video business is flat. The voice business is shrinking.

But there are market share shifts as well. Cable companies are winning virtually all the net new accounts in Internet access and video categories.

Leichtman Research Group says the the 17 largest cable and telephone providers in the United States, representing about 95 percent of the market, acquired nearly 1.1 million net additional high speed Internet access subscribers in the first quarter of  2016.

The 13 largest pay-TV providers, representing about 95% of the market, added about 10,000 net video subscribers in the first quarter of  2016, compared to a gain of about 170,000 subscribers in the first quarter of 2015. Most of the suppliers now are counting both linear and OTT accounts in those totals, it should be noted.

The only question in the fixed network voice business is how fast lines are being abandoned.


Subscribers at End
of 1Q 2016
Net Adds in
1Q 2016
Cable Companies


Comcast
23,767,000
438,000
Time Warner Cable
13,640,000
327,000
Charter
5,727,000
155,000
Cablevision
2,828,000
19,000
Suddenlink
1,253,000
30,000
Mediacom
1,114,000
29,000
WOW (WideOpenWest)
722,300
9,800
Cable ONE
508,424
7,183
Other Major Private Cable Companies*
6,775,000
50,000
Total Top Cable
56,334,724
1,064,983



Phone Companies


AT&T
15,764,000
(14,000)
Verizon
9,218,000
(10,000)
CenturyLink
6,056,000
8,000
Frontier^
2,468,600
24,600
Windstream
1,092,000
(3,100)
FairPoint
311,323
193
Cincinnati Bell
292,400
5,000
Total Top Phone Companies
35,202,323
10,693

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