FCC Data Shows Cable Broadband Largely Saturated: MoffettNathanson

Wired broadband -- meaning anything over 200/200 Kbps -- is available to 93.7% of residential units in the U.S., or probably around 120 million occupied housing units, MoffettNathanson wrote investors Wednesday, citing FCC broadband map data. With an estimated 104.9 million residential wired broadband subscriptions in the U.S. in Q2, that means a penetration of 87.4% into broadband-available homes, it said. That penetration rate seems to point to cable broadband being largely saturated and its growth likely to flatline going forward, it said. Due to poverty, illiteracy and lack of relevance among homes not subscribing, that saturation rate could be close to a ceiling, it said. Cable operators are likely to be particularly aggressive bidders in NTIA's broadband equity, access, and deployment program, it said.