The number of US households with high-speed Internet access will reach six million by the end of 2000, increasing to 28 million in 2004, according to Dataquest.
Cable modem will remain the dominant broadband technology, with cable subscriptions growing from 3.3 million this year to 14 million in 2004. As carriers expand their services in the larger US cities, DSL (digital subscriber lines) is projected to increase from 1.4 million subscribers in 2000 to 9.8 million in four years’ time. One of the key factors driving DSL growth is the development technology that makes it easier for users to install and configure.
Dataquest said that service providers will need to provide more than just high-speed access to win the residential broadband market. Content-driven applications, such as voice, video, and multimedia delivery, will play a significant part in attracting consumers to high-speed connections. To compete with cable modem services in the future, service providers will need to enhance their networks to support video and multimedia applications.
