According to a new report, Comcast has put some distance between itself and AT&T in terms of garnering new broadband subscribers.

Boston-based Strategy Analytics said in a recent report that Comcast and AT&T were in a virtual dead heat a year ago when each had roughly 9 million broadband subscribers.

Since then, Comcast has moved to the front of the pack due to its 3 million net new subscription increase compared to the second quarter a year ago.

The growth translates into a 32 percent year-over-year growth rate compared to 22 percent for AT&T. Collectively, the top three North American operators maintain a 45 percent market share.

“As expected, sequential quarterly growth decelerated for the top North American broadband service providers in Q2 ‘07,” said Ben Piper, director of the Strategy Analytics Broadband Network Strategies Service, in a prepared statement. “The slowdown for AT&T and Verizon can be attributed to their respective fiber rollouts – we anticipate increased momentum in the coming quarters as these deployments go live.”

According to Strategy Analytics, cable continues to lead the U.S. broadband access market by commanding 54 percent of total subscriptions.