Cable regains high-speed Internet momentum

Through 2006, Information Gatekeepers Inc. had predicted in its quarterly high-speed access reports that telcos were positioned to overtake cable's early lead in broadband deployment. That prediction changed in 2007, as IGI noted a reversal in the DSL trend line. For the first quarter of this year, IGI noted mixed results — AT&T added 491,000 high-speed access lines, 148,000 of which were on U-verse fiber to the node, but Verizon had a net add of only 4000 DSL lines, in addition to 262,000 FiOS lines. Over the same period, Cablevision, Comcast and Time Warner Cable all grew broadband subscribers beyond expectations. The danger, said IGI, is that telcos are losing triple-play customers for the long term and may not be able to get them back.