Cable companies attracted more Internet subscribers than phone companies did in the first quarter, reversing a 3 1/2-year trend, according to a research report Thursday.

The 19 largest cable companies in the U.S. added 1.19 million broadband subscribers in the January-to-March period, according to a tally by Leichtman Research Group.

Phone companies added 1.01 million DSL customer in the same period, the report said.

Since the third quarter of 2004, phone companies had been adding subscribers faster than cable, closing in on cable's lead in total subscribers. But that lead is now widening, with cable companies having a total of 34.7 million subscribers compared with 29.5 million at the phone companies.

"With telephone companies generally curtailing prior aggressive price-based offers to woo subscribers, the telcos added about two-thirds as many broadband subscribers as a year ago," wrote Bruce Leichtman, president of the firm.

Phone companies have moved resources into upgrading their networks rather than marketing basic DSL service. Verizon Communications Inc. is replacing its copper network with fiber, and added a net of just 4,000 subscribers to its copper-based DSL service in the first quarter. It gained 262,000 customers for its fiber-based service.

AT&T, the country's largest Internet service provider, is focused on raising DSL speeds in some areas so it can provide TV service over phone lines.

Meanwhile, cable companies are poised to boost their maximum available Internet speeds this year with a relatively cheap upgrade using new cable modem technology.

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