Despite figures for US internet access hitting a plateau, broadband penetration continues to grow successfully, as a new study reveals that 51% of US surfers now access the web using a high-speed connection.
According to a report from Nielsen//NetRatings, sixty-three million at-home internet users connected via broadband in July, citing a 47% year-on-year growth, compared to narrowband which dropped to 13%.
The popularity of broadband is more apparent in people aged 2 to 34 years, with each sub-category in this group reaching over 50% penetration. The 18 to 20 year old group possessed the highest number of broadband surfers with 59%, followed by the under 18s at 58%.
On the other hand, seniors aged 65 to 99 had the lowest penetration of broadband connections with 34%.
| Broadband vs Narrowband Connections (US, at home) |
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|
| |
|
|
| Connection Speed |
July 2003 |
July 2004 |
| Broadband |
38% |
51% |
| Narrowband |
62% |
49% |
| |
|
|
| Source: Nielsen//NetRatings, July 2004 |
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Senior director and analyst at Nielsen, March Ryan said: “Despite a plateau in the growth of US internet access, we’ve seen continued high double-digital growth in users’ broadband access. We expected to see this aggressive growth rate continues through next year and when the majority of internet users will be accessing the internet via a broadband connection.”
In the UK, broadband penetration has reached a 27.2% share of internet users, according to the latest report from the Office of National Statistics (see Cheap Broadband Spurs Growth).
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