SBC's high-speed chase.

According to new data, despite its late entry into the market of Chicago, Illinois, for high-speed Internet service, SBC Communications Inc. has erased most of the large lead once enjoyed here by Comcast Corp. A report from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission reveal that about 43% of broadband customers in Illinois used SBC's digital subscriber line service as of December 2003, while 45% tapped the Internet via Comcast's cable-modem service. SBC's gain comes as Chicago's market for broadband explodes. One in five Illinois households had high-speed Internet access as of the end of 2003.