Consumers Still Use Dial-Up
Despite broadband being the preferred method of connection in the US, and increasing penetration rates, there are still a large amount of consumers using dial-up with users citing price as a deciding factor in their choice of provider.
New estimates from the Yankee Group claim that dial-up will gradually decline over the rest of the decade, accounting for less than 20 million online households by 2009, representing less than 30% of all households with internet access. Broadband is expected to gain from dial-up’s decline as well as attract new internet subscribers.
The Yankee Group found that price wasn’t the only factor in users choosing broadband connections, with more than 30% of consumers saying they simply just don’t want broadband. About 14% said they felt that dial-up was adequate for their needs, while less than 10% said they were not able to get broadband access in their area.
A report published last summer from Informa Telecom’s & Media forecast broadband to overtake dial-up by 2009, with broadband market penetration increasing to nearly 50% of the population by the end of 2009, up from 28.6% in 2004 (see Broadband To Overtake Dial-Up By 2009).
Elsewhere, WPP’s recent Ogilvyone Report, revealed that Europe has overtaken North America as the second largest broadband market in the world (see Europe Pushes Broadband Uptake Forward).
According to the report, by the end of 2006, the top three countries in terms of broadband penetration will be the Netherlands at 56%, Switzerland with 51% and Denmark at 49%.
Total online household penetration in Western Europe is forecast to reach 63% by 2010, with 93% of online households expected to use broadband to access the internet.
