Broadband in 41 Percent of Wired U.S. Homes by 2006

October 17, 2001 By Newsbytes

NEW YORK -- Forty-one percent of online households in the United States will have broadband connections to the Internet by 2006, new research from Jupiter Media Metrix predicts.

Last year, only 9 percent of U.S. homes connected to the Net enjoyed broadband access, Jupiter said, noting that provider marketing will be crucial to widespread consumer adoption of high-speed access.

Jupiter said on Wednesday that 35.1 million wired homes will go broadband via cable modem, digital subscriber line (DSL), fixed wireless or satellite within 5 years. In 2000, 5.2 million households had broadband connectivity.

Cable modems will provide most of the high-speed connections, the report said.

However, broadband growth will accelerate only if cable and DSL providers blitz the Internet-surfing public with marketing campaigns, said Jupiter analyst Joe Laszlo.

"It is absolutely critical for companies with relevant content, products and services to time their business initiatives to reach the anticipated broadband audience," Laszlo said in a statement.

Theres a marked difference in online behavior among broadband subscribers and those with dial-up connections, the study found. Forty-six percent of broadband subscribers download music compared to only 26 percent of dial-up users; 48 percent of those with high-speed Net access conduct personal banking online, compared to 30 percent of those with narrowband access.

Still, the Nets most common uses -- e-mail, gathering information and instant messaging -- are the favorite online activity for broadband and dial-up users alike.

Dick Kelsey, Newsbytes

You may use or reference this story with attribution and a link to
http://www.govtech.com/wireless/Broadband-in-41-Percent-of-Wired.html

| More

Comments