High-Speed Net Access Jumps, Survey Says

The number of subscribers getting high-speed access to the Internet through cable television lines jumped 15% during the third quarter, a telecommunications group said in a survey.

The 825,000 new subscribers brings the total number of U.S. cable modem users to 6.4 million, about 9.1% of the 70 million homes able to receive the service, the National Cable and Telecommunications Assn. said.

Cable operators hold a growing lead over their fierce competitors for the high-speed Internet customers, the local telephone companies.

AT&T; Corp.’s AT&T; Broadband, the nation’s largest cable operator, had 1.4 million customers at the end of the third quarter. No.2 cable provider AOL Time Warner Inc. reported 1.7 million through its Road Runner cable modem service.

Comparatively, Verizon Communications, the nation’s biggest local phone company, had more than 1 million digital subscriber line Internet service customers at the end of the quarter. No. 2 local phone company SBC Communications Inc. had 1.2 million.