The information being released today was filed by qualifying service providers on September 1, 2002, and includes data as of June 30, 2002.
High-speed lines connecting homes and businesses to the Internet increased by 27 percent during the first half of 2002, the FCC found, from 12.8 million to 16.2 million lines. During the last half of 2001, by way of comparison, the amount of broadband connections increased 33 percent -- from 9.6 million to 12.8 million lines.
Of the 16.2 million high-speed lines in service at the end of June 2002, 14 million served residential and small business subscribers -- a 27 percent increase from the 11 million residential and small business high-speed lines reported six months earlier.
In addition, the FCC said, 10.4 million lines provided advanced services -- at speeds exceeding 200 kbps in both directions -- and increase of 41 percent during the first half of 2002.
At the end of June 2002, broadband services were present in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands -- and in 84 percent of the nation's zip codes, compared to 79 percent six months earlier.
With respect to deliver methods, the FCC found that DSL lines in service increased by 29 percent during the first half of 2002 -- from 3.9 million to 5.1 million lines -- compared to a 47 percent increase during the preceding six months (from nearly 2.7 million to 3.9 million lines).
Cable modem service increased by 30 percent during the first six months of 2002 -- from 7.1 million to 9.2 million lines. This increase was lower than the 36 percent increase during the second half of 2001 (from nearly 5.2 million to 7.1 million lines).
For zip codes ranked by median household income, high-speed subscribers were reported present in 98 percent of the top one-tenth of zip codes and in 69 percent of the bottom one-tenth of zip codes at the end of June 2002.
The comparable figures a year earlier were 96 percent and 59 percent, respectively.
