Broadband Penetration on the Upswing

Rural users lag in broadband adoption, and infrastructure availability is a reason
for this. Here are some highlights from the Pew Internet Project’s February 2004
survey:

  • 55% of all adult Internet users – or 34% of all adult Americans – have access
    to high-speed Internet connections either at home or on the job.
  • 39% of adult Internet users – or 24% of all adult Americans – have high-speed
    access at home, an increase of 60% since March 2003.
  • A surge in subscription to DSL high-speed Internet connections, which has
    more than doubled since March 2003, is largely behind the growth in broadband
    at home.
  • DSL now has a 42% share of the home broadband market, up from 28% in March
    2003.
  • For the first time, more than half (52%) of a key demographic group – college
    educated people age 35 and younger – has broadband connections at home.
  • Only 10% of rural Americans go online from home with high-speed connections,
    about one-third the rate for non-rural Americans.

Broadband Penetration on the Upswing (Pew Internet Trust)

I hadn’t realized how popular high-speed home connections are.

The full report is available as a PDF.

2 thoughts on “Broadband Penetration on the Upswing

  1. In my normal cart before the horse manner, I had to get cable TV because it was cheaper to add it to my existing internet cable only account as a package deal once the internet rates went up!

  2. I think it’s piggy-backing on cable tv, to be honest. The two media are converging more quickly than we realize (and I don’t know if it’s preventable). But it’s so worthwhile if you work online…I’ve had broadband ever since we moved into our house and I can’t imagine living without it now.

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