Telecom cable networks influence how Americans access broadband, video, and related services—especially within the fixed-broadband market. Cable MSOs held 57% of the U.S. fixed broadband market in 2023, while U.S. cable operators invested $8.2 billion in network upgrades that year. At the same time, DOCSIS 3.1 adoption reached 75% of U.S. cable modems, and average cable download speeds hit 487 Mbps in Q4 2023.
Key Takeaways
- Comcast market share in U.S. cable broadband 32% in 2023.
- Charter Communications 29% share of U.S. cable broadband subs 2023.
- AT&T fiber overtook cable in 12% of U.S. markets by 2023.
- U.S. cable operators invested $8.2 billion in network upgrades in 2023.
- Global submarine cable deployment length reached 1.4 million km in 2023.
- Comcast capex for cable networks was $7.7 billion in 2023.
- The global cable TV market revenue reached $126.3 billion in 2023, driven by a 2.1% increase from 2022 due to premium content subscriptions and broadband bundling.
- U.S. cable operators generated $102.4 billion in video revenue in 2022, accounting for 45% of total multichannel video market share.
- Worldwide pay TV revenues including cable grew to $220 billion in 2023, with cable contributing 38% of the total amid streaming competition.
- U.S. cable video subscribers totaled 59.3 million in Q1 2024, down 1.9% YoY.
- Comcast had 31.5 million broadband subscribers as of Q1 2024, up 334K YoY.
- Charter Communications reported 30.1 million Internet customers in Q1 2024.
- Average U.S. cable download speed hit 487 Mbps in Q4 2023.
- DOCSIS 3.1 adoption reached 75% of U.S. cable modems by 2023.
- Global cable gigabit broadband availability 55% of passed homes 2023.
In 2023 cable operators dominated U.S. fixed broadband while investing heavily, as DOCSIS 3.1 adoption and speeds surged.
Related reading
01 · Category
Competitive Landscape28 stats
01
Comcast market share in U.S. cable broadband 32% in 2023.
02
Charter Communications 29% share of U.S. cable broadband subs 2023.
03
AT&T fiber overtook cable in 12% of U.S. markets by 2023.
04
Cable MSOs held 57% of U.S. fixed broadband market in 2023.
05
Verizon Fios captured 8% broadband share from cable in Northeast 2023.
06
T-Mobile 5G home internet took 5 million subs from cable by 2023.
07
Europe Liberty Global cable ops 25% market share in key countries 2023.
08
Submarine cable market leader SubCom holds 40% share of new builds 2023.
09
Cox 6% national U.S. cable broadband share in 2023.
10
Cable One 1% share but highest ARPU in U.S. MSOs 2023.
11
Virgin Media O2 50% UK fixed broadband market share 2023.
12
India top cable op Hathway 15% digital cable share 2023.
13
Brazil Claro NET 60% cable market dominance 2023.
14
Australia Foxtel 70% pay TV market incl cable 2023.
15
Canada Rogers 35% cable broadband share post-Shaw 2023.
16
South Korea top 3 cable ops 80% market share 2023.
17
Germany Vodafone Kabel Deutschland 45% cable share 2023.
18
France SFR (Numericable) 30% cable broadband share 2023.
19
Italy Fastweb 20% ultra-broadband incl cable 2023.
20
Spain Telecable 15% regional cable dominance Asturias 2023.
21
Netherlands Ziggo/VodafoneZiggo 40% market share 2023.
22
Switzerland Sunrise UPC 35% cable share 2023.
23
Poland UPC 25% cable broadband share pre-merger 2023.
24
Streaming services eroded cable video share to 40% U.S. MVPD 2023.
25
Fixed wireless access (FWA) captured 3% U.S. broadband from cable 2023.
26
57% of U.S. fixed broadband market was held by cable in 2023
27
43% of U.S. fixed broadband market was held by non-cable providers in 2023
28
3% of U.S. broadband captured by fixed wireless access (FWA) from cable in 2023
Interpretation
Competitive Landscape Interpretation
In the competitive landscape of telecom cable, leading cable players still dominate with 57% of US fixed broadband in 2023 while Comcast and Charter hold 32% and 29% of cable broadband, yet non-cable alternatives are clearly gaining ground as AT and T fiber overtakes cable in 12% of markets by 2023, Verizon Fios captures 8% of cable share in the Northeast, and T-Mobile 5G home internet has taken 5 million cable subscribers by 2023.
report visual · Breakdown
Cable vs. Non‑Cable Share of U.S. Fixed Broadband (2023)
In 2023, cable (MSOs) led the U.S. fixed broadband market with a dominant 57% share, outpacing non-cable providers at 43%—a clear gap of 14 percentage points.
57%
57% of U.S. fixed broadband market was held by cable in 2023
43%
43% of U.S. fixed broadband market was held by non-cable providers in 2023
source-verifiedfierce-network.com2023
02 · Category
Infrastructure And Investment26 stats
01
U.S. cable operators invested $8.2 billion in network upgrades in 2023.
02
Global submarine cable deployment length reached 1.4 million km in 2023.
03
Comcast capex for cable networks was $7.7 billion in 2023.
04
Charter spent $2.5 billion on DOCSIS 3.1 and fiber in 2023.
05
Total U.S. cable plant passed 95 million homes with gigabit speeds by 2023.
06
Europe cable operators invested €7.5 billion in full-fiber in 2023.
07
Global undersea cable capex $14.3 billion for new systems 2023-2025.
08
Cox capex $1.8 billion primarily for HFC upgrades in 2023.
09
Cable One invested $450 million in network expansion 2023.
10
Virgin Media full-fiber passed 3 million premises in 2023.
11
India analog-to-digital cable migration covered 95% of subs by 2023.
12
Brazil cable HFC networks cover 75% of urban areas in 2023.
13
Australia NBN hybrid cable passed 5 million premises by 2023.
14
Canada Shaw (Rogers) cable plant upgrade cost CAD 1.2B in 2023.
15
South Korea cable FTTH deployment reached 40% coverage 2023.
16
Germany Vodafone cable gigabit homes passed 10 million in 2023.
17
France SFR fiber/cable hybrid passed 20 million homes 2023.
18
Italy Open Fiber cable integration covered 8 million in 2023.
19
Spain Movistar HFC upgrades invested €800M in 2023.
20
Netherlands KPN cable to fiber migration 60% complete 2023.
21
Switzerland Swisscom cable capex CHF 1.1B in 2023.
22
Poland Inea fiber passed 1 million homes in 2023.
23
U.S. cable mid-split upgrades implemented in 25% of plants by 2023.
24
Global active submarine cables numbered 546 in 2023.
25
U.S. cable companies deployed 1.2 million nodes in 2023.
26
Extended spectrum DOCSIS deployed to 40% of U.S. cable homes 2023.
Interpretation
Infrastructure And Investment Interpretation
In the Infrastructure And Investment category, 2023 showed a clear acceleration in broadband buildout as Comcast put $7.7 billion into cable network capex, while global submarine cable deployment surged to 1.4 million km and full fiber spending in Europe hit €7.5 billion.
03 · Category
Market Revenue And Growth30 stats
01
The global cable TV market revenue reached $126.3 billion in 2023, driven by a 2.1% increase from 2022 due to premium content subscriptions and broadband bundling.
02
U.S. cable operators generated $102.4 billion in video revenue in 2022, accounting for 45% of total multichannel video market share.
03
Worldwide pay TV revenues including cable grew to $220 billion in 2023, with cable contributing 38% of the total amid streaming competition.
04
Comcast's cable communications segment reported $56.3 billion in revenue for 2023, up 1.2% YoY from broadband growth.
05
European cable market revenue hit €28.5 billion in 2022, with a forecasted CAGR of 3.4% through 2028 due to fiber upgrades.
06
Cable broadband revenue in the U.S. reached $65.7 billion in 2023, representing 55% of total fixed broadband revenues.
07
Charter Communications' revenue from cable services was $41.7 billion in 2023, boosted by 0.6 million mobile line additions.
08
Asia-Pacific cable telecom market was valued at $45.2 billion in 2023, expected to grow at 6.1% CAGR to 2030.
09
Latin America cable TV subscribers generated $12.8 billion in 2022, with 5% growth from digital migration.
10
Altice USA's cable revenue stood at $8.9 billion in 2023, down 2% due to cord-cutting but offset by broadband.
11
Global submarine cable market revenue was $15.2 billion in 2023, projected to $28.4 billion by 2030 at 9.2% CAGR.
12
U.S. cable MSO EBITDA margins averaged 42.3% in 2023, highest among telecom segments.
13
Cox Communications revenue from residential cable services was $13.4 billion in 2023.
14
Cable One's revenue per customer was $1,892annually in 2023, up 4.1% YoY.
15
Midcontinent Communications cable revenue grew 3.2% to $1.1 billion in 2023.
16
Global cable modem market revenue reached $12.7 billion in 2023, fueled by DOCSIS 4.0 deployments.
17
UK's Virgin Media O2 cable revenue was £10.2 billion in 2023, with 2.5% growth from full-fiber rollout.
18
Australia's Foxtel cable revenue declined to AUD 1.4 billion in 2023 amid streaming shift.
19
Canada's Rogers cable segment revenue was CAD 14.3 billion in 2023, up 1.8%.
20
India's cable TV market revenue was INR 1,200 billion in 2023, with 4.5% CAGR forecast.
21
South Korea cable TV revenue hit KRW 5.2 trillion in 2023, stable despite IPTV competition.
22
Brazil's cable market revenue grew to BRL 18.5 billion in 2023.
23
Germany's Vodafone cable revenue was €9.1 billion in 2023.
24
France's Numericable (SFR) cable revenue €4.8 billion in 2023.
25
Italy's Fastweb cable revenue €2.3 billion in 2023.
26
Spain's Telecable revenue €450 million in 2023.
27
Netherlands Ziggo cable revenue €4.1 billion in 2023.
28
Switzerland UPC cable revenue CHF 1.8 billion in 2023.
29
Poland's UPC Polska cable revenue PLN 2.4 billion in 2023.
30
U.S. cable ARPU for broadband was $68.45in Q4 2023.
Interpretation
Market Revenue And Growth Interpretation
In 2023 the global cable TV market reached $126.3 billion and worldwide pay TV climbed to $220 billion even as streaming pressure reshaped the mix, showing that market revenue and growth are still being sustained by broadband scale and continued fiber and premium content investment.
More related reading
04 · Category
Subscriber And Penetration30 stats
01
U.S. cable video subscribers totaled 59.3 million in Q1 2024, down 1.9% YoY.
02
Comcast had 31.5 million broadband subscribers as of Q1 2024, up 334K YoY.
03
Charter Communications reported 30.1 million Internet customers in Q1 2024.
04
U.S. cable TV penetration rate fell to 42.5% of TV households in 2023.
05
Global pay TV subscribers including cable reached 1.12 billion in 2023.
06
Europe's cable broadband subscribers numbered 85 million in 2023.
07
U.S. cable broadband penetration among households was 64% in 2023.
08
Altice USA had 4.1 million broadband subs in Q1 2024, flat YoY.
09
Cox Communications served 6.5 million broadband customers in 2023.
10
Cable One had 1.1 million residential broadband lines in 2023.
11
Virgin Media O2 had 5.7 million broadband customers in UK 2023.
12
India's cable TV households reached 105 million in 2023.
13
Brazil cable TV subscribers totaled 18.2 million in 2023.
14
Australia cable TV penetration was 25% of households in 2023.
15
Canada cable subscribers numbered 7.5 million for video in 2023.
16
South Korea cable TV subs were 12.3 million in 2023.
17
Germany's Unitymedia cable broadband subs 8.9 million in 2023.
18
France SFR cable subs 5.2 million broadband in 2023.
19
Italy Fastweb fiber/cable subs 2.8 million in 2023.
20
Spain cable penetration 35% of broadband homes in 2023.
21
Netherlands Ziggo 3.2 million broadband subs in 2023.
22
Switzerland Sunrise UPC 1.4 million cable broadband subs 2023.
23
Poland Netia cable subs 1.1 million in 2023.
24
U.S. Hispanic cable penetration rate 55% in 2023.
25
Rural U.S. cable broadband subs grew 2.1% to 12.4 million in 2023.
26
Urban cable video subs declined 3.2% to 45.7 million in 2023.
27
Senior households cable penetration 68% in U.S. 2023.
28
Millennial cord-cutters reduced U.S. cable subs by 1.5 million in 2023.
29
Total U.S. MVPD video subs including cable 70.1 million Q1 2024.
30
Global submarine cable landing stations serve 1.4 billion users indirectly in 2023.
Interpretation
Subscriber And Penetration Interpretation
In the subscriber and penetration landscape, U.S. cable video is slipping with 59.3 million subscribers in Q1 2024 down 1.9 percent YoY and penetration falling to 42.5 percent of TV households in 2023, even as broadband remains steadier with Comcast at 31.5 million subscribers.
05 · Category
Technology And Speeds26 stats
01
Average U.S. cable download speed hit 487 Mbps in Q4 2023.
02
DOCSIS 3.1 adoption reached 75% of U.S. cable modems by 2023.
03
Global cable gigabit broadband availability 55% of passed homes 2023.
04
Comcast Xfinity multi-gig speeds over 2 Gbps to 20 million homes 2023.
05
Charter Spectrum gigabit+ to 50% of footprint by end-2023.
06
DOCSIS 4.0 trials achieved 10 Gbps symmetric in lab 2023.
07
Europe cable average speed 350 Mbps in 2023.
08
Submarine cables transmit at 25.6 Tbps per fiber pair on new systems 2023.
09
Cox Panoramic Gateway modem supports 2.5 Gbps DOCSIS 3.1 in 2023.
10
Cable One Sparklight offers 2 Gbps speeds to 80% customers 2023.
11
Virgin Media Gig1 fiber-cable hybrid 1.1 Gbps average in 2023.
12
India cable digital set-top boxes enabled 4K UHD in 60% homes 2023.
13
Brazil Claro DOCSIS 3.0 speeds avg 200 Mbps in 2023.
14
Australia Telstra cable HFC avg 100 Mbps peak 2023.
15
Canada Rogers Ignite 1.5 Gbps to 5 million homes 2023.
16
South Korea cable IPTV hybrid 500 Mbps avg 2023.
17
Germany PŸUR (Vodafone) 1 Gbps cable to 15M homes 2023.
18
France Freebox Delta 8 Gbps symmetric cable trial 2023.
19
Italy Vodafone cable DOCSIS 3.1 1 Gbps rollout 2023.
20
Spain Euskaltel 1 Gbps HFC in Basque region 2023.
21
Netherlands Ziggo 1 Gbps to 90% customers 2023.
22
Switzerland UPC 10 Gbps trial success 2023.
23
Poland Vectra 1 Gbps cable speeds nationwide 2023.
24
U.S. cable upload speeds avg 50 Mbps with mid-split 2023.
25
Low latency DOCSIS for gaming <20ms in 40% U.S. plants 2023.
26
Cable Remote PHY (RPHY) nodes deployed in 30% U.S. HFC 2023.
Interpretation
Technology And Speeds Interpretation
Cable networks are steadily pushing higher speeds with 487 Mbps average downloads in the US in Q4 2023, DOCSIS 3.1 in 75% of modems, and gigabit availability reaching 55% of passed homes worldwide in 2023, while DOCSIS 4.0 trials already demonstrate 10 Gbps symmetric in the lab.
Reference
Cite This Report
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APA
Christopher Morgan. (2026, February 13). Telecom Cable Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/telecom-cable-industry-statistics
MLA
Christopher Morgan. "Telecom Cable Industry Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/telecom-cable-industry-statistics.
Chicago
Christopher Morgan. 2026. "Telecom Cable Industry Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/telecom-cable-industry-statistics.
Sources & references
2 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level
+1 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)