US Broadband Penetration To Reach 70 Billion By 2008
Broadband penetration in the US will reach nearly 70 billion households by 2008, with analysts eMarketer predicting that broadband households will grow at a compound annual rate of 19.4% between 2004 and 2008.
Ben Macklin, eMarketer senior analyst and writer of the report explained: “The broadband market is no longer about high-speed internet access. A new market is being created, including voice and video – a market worth nearly ten times the value of the internet access business alone.”
Macklin points out that digital convergence strategies among communications companies have brought about the broadband boom. He said: “Telecom companies are offering video services, cable companies are offering voice services, and the company that controls broadband connection will control the future digital home.”
Voice-over-internet-protcol (VoIP) is forecast to reach nearly 20 million households worldwide by 2010, according to Global Information Incorporated (see VoIP To Reach 20 Million Households By 2010).
Internet protocol television (IPTV) is becoming increasingly popular, with the medium expected to launch in the US by the middle of 2005 and in Europe by the end of the year (see The Future Of Television – IPTV).
Video Networks is already providing broadband entertainment through its HomeChoice service in the UK, with broadcast channels and on-demand programming being delivered to customers via the phone line directly to the television set.
Last summer, Bluewin, a division of Swiss telecom group, Swisscom, announced plans to run the first European commercial trials of the Microsoft television system, initially providing 600 homes with 25 channels via a broadband telephone line (see Trials Of Microsoft TV Begin In Europe).
