Financial research concept

Telecom Broadband Net Additions: High-Speed Internet Customer Growth

Telecom broadband net additions measure net customer growth across high-speed internet products, helping investors assess total connectivity growth before separating fiber and fixed wireless.

By Lee BaileyPublished Sep 20, 2026
Research context

See what supports this page, how current it is, and where comparable or historical context is available.

Research date
Sep 20, 2026Use the dated article and cited sources for the definition, examples, and stated limitations.
Operating-model context
12 connected conceptsPart of the reviewed Telecom Wireless & Broadband Operating Model; issuer definitions remain distinct where disclosed.
Company examples
2 reviewed companiesRelationships reflect supported examples, not a normalized cross-company KPI ranking.
  1. Total broadband growth combines access technologies
  2. Legacy copper can be excluded
  3. Mix matters
  4. Primary-source examples
  5. Part of the Telecom Wireless & Broadband Operating Model
  6. See It in Company Research
  7. Continue Research

Telecom broadband net additions measure the net change in high-speed internet connections during a period under the carrier's broadband scope.

It is a total high-speed connectivity growth measure, not a technology-specific fiber or fixed-wireless measure.

Total broadband growth combines access technologies

AT&T reported 646,000 internet net additions in the second quarter of 2026, consisting of 367,000 fiber and 279,000 fixed-wireless additions.

Verizon reported 348,000 total broadband net additions, consisting of 155,000 fiber and 193,000 fixed-wireless additions.

The labels differ, but both disclosures show total high-speed connectivity growth split between wired fiber and fixed wireless.

Legacy copper can be excluded

Verizon explicitly excludes solutions delivered over traditional copper-based networks from its total broadband statistic.

AT&T's Advanced Connectivity presentation likewise emphasizes fiber and fixed wireless rather than legacy broadband products.

Mix matters

Fiber generally requires heavier upfront construction but can support high capacity and durable infrastructure economics.

Fixed wireless can expand coverage faster by using mobile spectrum and radio infrastructure.

Primary-source examples

Telecom broadband net additions are most useful as a total high-speed connectivity growth measure. Read them with fiber additions, fixed-wireless additions, network buildout, and broadband connection counts.

Part of the Telecom Wireless & Broadband Operating Model

Connect postpaid phone scale, growth, churn, broadband net additions, installed fiber and fixed-wireless bases, and prepaid phone scale, growth, and churn to understand telecom customer-base economics.

How the model fits together
  • Postpaid phone base, growth, and retention: Postpaid phone subscribers show the recurring phone base, net additions show whether it is expanding or contracting, and postpaid phone churn shows the rate at which customers leave. Issuer definitions remain specific to each carrier's retail population.
  • Broadband growth and access mix: Broadband net additions show total high-speed connectivity growth, while fiber and fixed-wireless net additions decompose the access technologies driving that growth. AT&T and Verizon use related but not identical internet and broadband labels.
  • Installed broadband base and prepaid dynamics: Broadband, fiber, and fixed-wireless connections show the installed access base behind net additions. Prepaid phone subscribers, net additions, and churn add a distinct lower-commitment wireless customer layer whose acquisition and retention economics differ from postpaid.

See It in Company Research

These companies are examples of how the concept is reported or discussed in public filings. Definitions can differ by issuer; these links open company research rather than a normalized metric comparison.

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