According to Leichtman Research, US telcos were unable to maintain the huge surge in customers they saw in 2020.

In 2020, the largest cable and wireline phone providers in the US – representing about 96 percent of the market – added an eye-watering 4,860,000 subscribers.

Of course, the notable thing about that year was the emergence of COVID-19. Lockdowns meant that more people had to subscribe to more telecoms services to work, study, and socialise.

New customer growth slowed considerably in 2020; with the large US telcos adding around 2,950,000 subscribers.

The number of subscribers added in 2020 is a return to more “normal” growth and is actually higher than in each year from 2016-2019. In 2019, for example, the telcos added around 2,550,000 subscribers.

“Broadband additions proved to be resilient in 2021 following 2020’s pandemic-related surge in subscribers,” said Bruce Leichtman, President and Principal Analyst for Leichtman Research Group, Inc. 

“The top broadband providers added significantly fewer subscribers in 2021 than in 2020, but the net adds in 2021 were higher than in each year from 2016-2019.”

Comcast remains the largest broadband provider with around 31,901,000 subscribers, having added around 1,327,000 customers in 2021.

Charter is hot on the heels of Comcast with an estimated 30,089,000 subscribers, after adding around 1,210,000 in 2021.

To round out the top three, Cox has an estimated 5,530,000 subscribers after adding around 150,000 in 2021.

Overall, broadband additions in 2021 were 61 percent of the total in 2020 and 115 percent of the total in 2019.

(Photo by Ussama Azam on Unsplash)

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