2 in 5 Web Users Have Broadband at Home
NEW YORK - Two in five Internet users in the United States now have high-speed access at home as telephone companies slash prices to better compete with cable broadband services.
In a report Sunday, the Pew Internet and American Life Project placed the adult residential broadband population at 48 million, or one-quarter of all adult Americans.
The numbers are consistent with a Nielsen/NetRatings study, released Friday, showing 42 percent of home users in March connected through broadband, while 77 percent of users in the workplace have high-speed lines.
Among college-educated adults age 35 and younger, penetration has reached 52 percent.
Most of the growth has been since November from connections over souped-up phone lines called DSL, which now make up 42 percent of the home broadband market, up from 28 percent in March 2003. Cable modems still have the lead, with a market share of 54 percent, but they no longer enjoy a 2-to-1 edge.
According to the study, 36 percent of home broadband users said they switched because their dial-up connection was too slow or frustrating. Twenty-one percent said they wanted to download files faster, and 10 percent needed it for job-related tasks.
As of February, 39 percent of U.S. Internet users have broadband access at home, compared with 31 percent in November and 27 percent last March. The February survey found 55 percent have broadband at either home or work.
Pew found geographic disparities in high-speed access. Ten percent of rural Americans have broadband at home, compared with 28 percent of those living in urban or suburban areas.
The study also found home broadband users far more likely to perform basic tasks like conducting research and getting driving directions. They are also at the cutting-edge of technology ? more likely, for instance, to use a wireless device to log on.
NEW YORK - Two in five Internet users in the United States now have high-speed access at home as telephone companies slash prices to better compete with cable broadband services.
In a report Sunday, the Pew Internet and American Life Project placed the adult residential broadband population at 48 million, or one-quarter of all adult Americans.
The numbers are consistent with a Nielsen/NetRatings study, released Friday, showing 42 percent of home users in March connected through broadband, while 77 percent of users in the workplace have high-speed lines.
Among college-educated adults age 35 and younger, penetration has reached 52 percent.
Most of the growth has been since November from connections over souped-up phone lines called DSL, which now make up 42 percent of the home broadband market, up from 28 percent in March 2003. Cable modems still have the lead, with a market share of 54 percent, but they no longer enjoy a 2-to-1 edge.
According to the study, 36 percent of home broadband users said they switched because their dial-up connection was too slow or frustrating. Twenty-one percent said they wanted to download files faster, and 10 percent needed it for job-related tasks.
As of February, 39 percent of U.S. Internet users have broadband access at home, compared with 31 percent in November and 27 percent last March. The February survey found 55 percent have broadband at either home or work.
Pew found geographic disparities in high-speed access. Ten percent of rural Americans have broadband at home, compared with 28 percent of those living in urban or suburban areas.
The study also found home broadband users far more likely to perform basic tasks like conducting research and getting driving directions. They are also at the cutting-edge of technology ? more likely, for instance, to use a wireless device to log on.
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