[April 09, 2009] STRATEGY ANALYTICS: AT&T and Verizon Fiber Subscribers to Grow 60% in 2009 Tweet BOSTON --(Business Wire)-- AT&T and Verizon, each in the midst of major fiber broadband rollouts, led in new broadband customer acquisition in the final quarter of 2008, adding 242,000 and 212,000 new broadband subscribers, respectively. A new report just published by analyst firm Strategy Analytics predicts double-digit subscriber growth for the companies in 2009. Overall, US Broadband Service Providers (BSPs) added just over six million new subscribers in 2008, implying a 9% year-over-year growth rate, according to the report. Philadelphia-based Comcast finished the year with 14.29 million broadband customers, making it the largest BSP in North America. "Consumer broadband appears to have been spared much of the carnage we're seeing in other sectors," noted Ben Piper, Analyst and Director of the Strategy Analytics Multiplay Market Dynamics service. "Despite a weak economy, consumer broadband has shown some surprising resilience. While North American broadband growth is certainly not what it was a year ago, subscriber numbers are still quite healthy." The rapid growth in new Telco net additions has been driven largely by the fiber rollouts of AT&T and Verizon, according to the report. The companies' fiber offerings have enjoyed impressive consumer take-up and a strong growth trajectory; Strategy Analytics expects fiber subscriptions to grow over 60% in 2009. "Fiber will clearly be a broadband growth engine in 2009," noted John Lee, author of the report and Analyst in the Strategy Analytics Digital Consumer Practice. "It's the only platform experiencing double-digit subscriber growth in 2009." The report, "Broadband Service Provider Performance Benchmarking: North America 4Q'08" summarizes quarterly subscriber growth trends for the 30 leading broadband service providers (BSPs) operating in the United States and Canada. It tracks subscribers, market shares and selected financial metrics, and provides operator-level subscriber forecasts for 2009. In addition, the report contains a flat file of all data, allowing clients to create customized pivot tables. Analyst Blogs: www.strategyanalytics.com/blogs/author/dmercer About Strategy Analytics Strategy Analytics, Inc offers high frequency market intelligence on emerging communications and media technologies. Headquartered in Boston, MA, with offices on five continents, Strategy Analytics works with clients through annual multi-client services, management team workshops and custom consulting engagements. For more information, please visit www.strategyanalytics.com [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]