This page is maintained by Nick Christenson, npc@jetcafe.org. It was last updated on November 20, 2005.
The point of this page is to track the relative sizes of the larger Internet Service Providers, where size is measured by some notion of the extent of their customer base. Very little information has been made publically available on this, and as far as I can tell, no attempt has ever been made to collate it. The purpose of this page is to make this attempt. It will disappear if anyone with real time and resources ever decides to track this information and make it public. Since the page has been around for since the summer of 1998 and this has not yet happened, this doesn't look too likely.
About the only way to gain real information on the size of the customer base of any ISP is via their own announcements. Because of various ISP's philosophies regarding disclosure, some of this data comes from far more accurate and up-to-date sources than others. This is an unfortunate necessity. Of course, we have no real idea what the methodology is that they are using, nor can we tell whether these numbers are in any way accurate. Further, as is especially the case for the free service ISPs, it's hard to gain consensus on what these numbers mean, or how meaningful they are. Nonetheless, this information can show some relative sizes without needing to be horribly accurate.
The vast majority of the information here is compiled by me as I read various sources of ISP news. A sizeable fraction of the data are submitted to me by kind souls from around the Internet. This page is better for everyone because of their contributions. If you ever hear an ISP quote its size in any non-confidential context, please email this number to me, the name of the ISP, and information I can use to cite the figure. I don't intend to quote a number I cannot verify. Of course, representatives of the ISPs themselves are invited to send me their numbers when they can be disclosed publically.
The goal of this page is to list every ISP doing business in the United States that can legitimately claim more than 100,000 subscribers and list their actual size as accurately as possible. Some are listed that are smaller than this threshold, but I make no commitment to try to list these, especially if they do not have a nationwide or at least a large regional presence.
This is the information I have been able to find so far, along with a set of ISPs that may also be of sufficient size, but for whom I have no information.
By the way, I will no longer be adding information from Internetnews.com or affiliated web sites, as I believe their ethical standards for journalism are beneath contempt.
| ISP | Subscribership | Date | Source | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| America Online | 22,200,000* | 20050204 | The Register | |
| NetZero | 8,600,000 | 20010503 | Yahoo! (now United Online after merger with Juno) | |
| Comcast | 8,142,000 | 20050930 | Leichtman Research Group | |
| Microsoft Network | 8,000,000 | 20040108 | Yahoo! | |
| Spinway | 6,700,000 | 20004201 | BlueLight press release on Spinway's demise | |
| United Online | 6,600,000*** | 20041025 | United Online press release | |
| SBC Communication | 6,496,000**** | 20050930 | Leichtman Research Group | |
| EarthLink | 5,400,000 | 20041021 | CNet News | |
| RoadRunner | 4,557,000 | 20050930 | Leichtman Research Group | |
| Verizon | 4,531,000**** | 20050930 | Leichtman Research Group | |
| Prodigy | 3,500,000 | 20011019 | Yahoo!, now part of SBC | |
| 1stUp.com | 3,500,000 | 20000426 | Internet News (before they folded) | |
| Freei.Net | 3,200,000 | 20000810 | Freei web site(acquired by NetZero on November 1, 2000) | |
| AltaVista (via 1stUp) | 3,000,000 | 20001206 | Yahoo! (at the time they discontinued free service) | |
| Cox Communications | 2,975,000 | 20050930 | Leichtman Research Group | |
| Bell South | 2,678,000**** | 20050930 | Leichtman Research Group | |
| Charter Communications | 2,120,000 | 20050930 | Leichtman Research Group | |
| Compuserve (AoL) | 2,000,000* | 20000630 | 2000 Annual Report to Shareholders | |
| Adelphia | 1,656,700 | 20050930 | Leichtman Research Group | |
| Cablevision | 1,600,000 | 20050930 | Leichtman Research Group | |
| AT&T Worldnet | 1,500,000 | 20000502 | Internet News | |
| Qwest | 1,340,000**** | 20050930 | Leichtman Research Group | |
| Mindspring | 1,297,000 | 19991020 | CNet News (merged with EarthLink on Feb. 7, 2000) | |
| MSN TV | 1,000,000 | 20030503 | Microsoft Press Release, renamed WebTV service | |
| Juno | 910,000*** | 20010424 | Yahoo! (Now merged with NetZero.) | |
| RCN | 827,000 | 20020208 | Yahoo! | |
| Bright House Networks | 815,000 | 20050930 | Leichtman Research Group | |
| OneMain | 794,000 | 20000803 | Yahoo!(Before acquisition by EarthLink) | |
| Gateway.net (AoL) | 740,000 | 20000119 | AoL web site | |
| Sprint DSL | 638,000 | 20050930 | Leichtman Research Group | |
| Covad | 578,400 | 20050930 | Leichtman Research Group | |
| GTE | 491,000 | 19991129 | San Francisco Chronicle, now part of Verizon | |
| CoreComm | 462,000 | 20001013 | Yahoo! | |
| Mediacom | 453,000 | 20050930 | Leichtman Research Group | |
| PeoplePC | 450,000 | 2001 | PeoplePC web site | |
| Insight | 439,200 | 20050930 | Leichtman Research Group | |
| IBM Global Internet | >400,000 | 19980421 | Computer Retail Week (Acquired by AT&T Worldnet on December 8, 1998) | |
| Netcom | 400,000 | 19990107 | San Jose Mercury News (at the time of the Mindspring buyout) | |
| Voyager.net | 368,000 | 20000927 | Yahoo! (at the time of the CoreComm merger approval | |
| iFreedom | 365,000 | 20000914 | Yahoo! (referring its customers to NetZero) | |
| ALLTEL | 359,975**** | 20050930 | Leichtman Research Group | |
| Verio | 300,000 | 20000324 | Yahoo! | |
| SW Bell/Pacific Bell | 300,000 | 19980515 | Pacific Bell Internet press release, now part of SBC | |
| WorldSpy | 260,000 | 20000710 | Red Herring (at the time it folded) | |
| Millennium Digital Medium | 250,000 | 20010323 | Millennium Digital Medium web site | |
| Volaris Online | 250,000 | 20011101 | ||
| FlashNet | 231,000 | 20000515 | Yahoo! (at the time of the Prodigy acquisition) | |
| Cable One | 219,900 | 20050930 | Leichtman Research Group | |
| CenturyTel | 219,879 | 20050930 | Leichtman Research Group | |
| Bell Atlantic | 200,000 | 19991129 | San Francisco Chronicle, now part of Verizon | |
| Concentric | 197,000 | 19991100 | Second hand from a Concentric employee. | |
| Sprynet | 180,000 | 19990107 | San Jose Mercury News (at the time of the Mindspring buyout) | |
| High Speed Access | 176,000 | 20010803 | Yahoo! (now sold all its assets to Charter) | |
| BlueLight.com | 174,000 | 20030206 | United Online press release (at the time of the United Online acquisition) | |
| Everyones Internet | 170,000 | 20020104 | Houston Business Journal | |
| Eisa.com | 165,000 | 19991201 | eisa.com web page | |
| Cincinnati Bell | 153,500**** | 20050930 | Leichtman Research Group | |
| JPSnet | 115,000 | 19990303 | JPSnet press release (acquired by OneMain, now part of EarthLink) | |
| Internet Commerce & Communication | 112,000 | 20000613 | Internet News | |
| Cable & Wireless | >104,000 | 19990720 | estimate from Prodigy press release at time of CW dial up acquisition | |
| Slash net | 100,000 | 19980518 | Internet Week | |
| GoAmerica | 91,384 | 20030409 | Yahoo! | |
| IDT | 80,000 | 19981020 | IDT web site | |
| Internet America | 76,000 | 20031114 | Yahoo! | |
| Broadwing | 76,000 | 20021231 | April 2, 2003 issue of DSL Prime | |
| VillageNet | 70,000 | 19991123 | VillageWorld press release | |
| BiznessOnline.com | 63,000 | 19991230 | BusinessOnline.com Press Release | |
| Aplus.Net | 62,000 | 20010401 | Aplus.Net web site | |
| Primary Network | 60,000 | 20000124 | Primary Network press release (Now part of Mpower) | |
| FirstWorld | 58,700 | 20000216 | CNet News (customers purchased by EarthLink) | |
| InterLync | 47,000 | 20000330 | Email from an InterLync employee | |
| Log on America | 45,000 | 20000809 | Log on America press release (Sold it's subscriber base to EarthLink) | |
| PDQ.net | 45,000 | 19990913 | PDQ.net web site(at the time of the Internet America buyout) | |
| Metricom | 40,900 | 20010209 | Yahoo! (before their demise) | |
| Northpoint | 40,000 | 20000330 | CNet News (at the time of the AT&T acquisition) | |
| Teleport | 40,000 | 19991130 | OneMain web site (at the time of the OneMain takeover) | |
| WorldShare.net | 38,000 | 20000406 | WorldsShare.net employee email | |
| 21st Century | 37,000 | 19991213 | Internet News (at the time of the RCN takeover) | |
| Big Net | 35,000 | 20000202 | Email from the Big Net CFO | |
| TIAC | 33,000 | 19990622 | Internet News (at the time of the PSI buyout) | |
| BestWeb | 30,000 | 20010411 | BusinessWeek online | |
| Flashcom | 24,500 | 20010222 | TheStreet.com (as Covad acquires them) | |
| HiWAAY Internet Services | 23,500 | 20020311 | Email from HiWAAY Internet employee | |
| FIRST | 20,000 | 20000123 | Email from the 1st.net CEO | |
| Fastnet | 19,770 | 20001121 | Yahoo! | |
| CAIS Internet | 16,000 | 20010529 | Yahoo! | |
| @Link | 11,000 | 20010426 | CNet News (as @Link closes its doors) | |
| Brigadoon | 7,000 | 19981102 | CNet News | |
| Primenet | ? | ? | No info on their web site. | |
| Worldcom | ? | ? | No info on their web site. | |
| Panix | ? | ? | No info on their web site. | |
| InfiNet | ? | ? | No info on their web site. |
This page Copyright Nick Christenson, 1998 - 2005, All Rights Reserved.