
Growth slows as penetration passes halfway mark...
By Sylvia Carr
Published: 20 August 2004 13:30 BST
Americans are no longer in any hurry to sign up for broadband, presumably because more than half of the country already has a high-speed internet service.
The number of new subscribers for the US's largest 20 DSL and cable providers - which make up 95 per cent of the market - totalled 1.7 million in the second quarter of 2004, according to the Leichtman Research Group. That's the lowest figure of any quarter over the past year.
Each of the top 20 saw lower subscriber growth compared to last quarter.
As for connection technologies, DSL took the lead in new customers against cable for the first time. The top cable companies signed up 830,000 new subscribers, the lowest level since the end of 2001, while DSL providers squeaked ahead with 895,000 additions for the quarter.
Overall, though, cable is still king in the US as it holds 61 per cent market share over DSL.
So does everyone who wants broadband have it? Not quite, but penetration has passed the halfway mark.
As of July 2004, 51 per cent of Americans have broadband at home according to recent numbers from Nielsen//NetRatings.
That's 47 per cent higher than the same month last year.
By comparison, narrowband connections, including dial-up, dropped 13 per cent annually.
The US and the UK appear to be experiencing the same phenomenon - the growth of broadband and the decline of narrowband, while the total number of internet subscribers remains fairly steady.
In the UK, the number of broadband connections has nearly doubled in the past year as dial-up connections fell by 10 per cent.
Working closely with the Account and Program Managers in ensuring all required information is passed to our Head Office accurately and in a timely ...
Figure out with us what goes well and what doesn? To be able to read, write, work with numbers and use a computer Community and Connections Location: ...
Hailing from an engineering background, you will have a minimum 4 years Project Management experience including engineering inputs at all stages: ...
Agenda Setters 2008
Welcome to the ninth annual Agenda Setters poll – silicon.com's list of the top 50 most influential individuals in the technology and IT industries, from techies and CIOs to entrepreneurs and business leaders. Find out more in our latest special report.
Stories from the web...
Copyright © 2008 CBS Interactive Limited. All rights reserved. Top of page
Rob Bamforth Seeking memorable mobile apps Quocirca's Straight Talking: Why are there so few?
Stewart Baines How much SEO is too much? Net Effect: Plus 10 tips on boosting your site's profile