Home » Bandwidth Report » US Broadband Penetration Jumps to 42.85% – US Ranks 11th Worldwide – January 2004 Bandwidth Report

US Broadband Penetration Jumps to 42.85% – US Ranks 11th Worldwide – January 2004 Bandwidth Report

Overall, broadband grew by 1.31 percentage points in December, with 42.85% of Internet-connected U.S. households enjoying a high-speed connection. 57.15% of US home users dial into the Internet with “narrowband” connections of 56Kbps or less. Worldwide, the U.S. ranks 11th in broadband penetration among developed nations, according to a recent UN study.


The charts below, derived from Nielsen//NetRatings, show trends in connection speeds to the Internet for users in the United States.*

Home Connectivity in the US

As of December 2003, most users in the US connect to the Internet using dial-up modems of 56Kbps or less. 47.4% use 56Kbps modems, 7.4% use 28/33.3Kbps, and 2.3% use 14.4Kbps modems. In total, 57.1% of home users in the US connect to the Internet at 56Kbps or less (see Figure 1).

Web Connection Speed Trends – Home Users (US)

Web Connection Speed Trends December 2003 - U.S. home users

Figure 1: Web Connection Speed Trends – Home Users (US)
Source: Nielsen//NetRatings

Broadband Growth in the US

Broadband penetration in US homes increased by 1.31 percentage points in December, over double November’s increase. As of December 2003 broadband penetration was at 42.85%, up from 41.54% in November. This is higher than the average increase in broadband of 0.75 percentage points per month from October 1999 to December 2003. Extrapolating the data provided by Nielsen//NetRatings, we estimate that broadband share in the US should exceed 50% by June of 2004 (see Figure 2).

Broadband Connection Speed Trend – Home Users (US)

Broadband Connection Speed Trend - December 2003 - U.S. home users

Figure 2: Broadband Connection Speed Trend – Home Users (US)
Extrapolated by Web Site Optimization, LLC from Nielsen//NetRatings data

Work Connectivity

Most workers in the US enjoy high-speed connections to the Internet. Most use a high-speed line such as a T1 connection, and share bandwidth between computers connected to an ethernet network. The speed of each connection decreases as more employees hook up to the LAN. As of December of 2003, of those connected to the Internet, 75.7% of US users at work enjoy a high-speed connection, up 1.5 percentage points from 74.2% in November. 24.3% connect from work at 56Kbps or less (see Figure 3).

Web Connection Speed Trends – Work Users (US)

Web Connection Speed Trends - December 2003 - U.S. work users

Figure 3: Web Connection Speed Trends – Work Users (US)
Source: Nielsen//NetRatings

US Trails 10 Other Nations in Broadband Penetration

USA Today reported that while the US leads all nations in total broadband subscribers (over 20 million) it is 11th of all nations in broadband penetration.

Further Reading

Covad: Small Business Broadband Use Rising: More Than 65 Percent Using Broadband
Data from recent survey by Covad Communications shows that 66 percent of respondents use broadband with 39 percent of these small businesses adopting broadband in the last two years. Businesswire/Covad Communications, Jan. 22, 2004
December 2003 BuyTelco Broadband Index (BBI) – Latest Broadband Data Shows Highest Buying Demand On Tuesdays
Shows demand by day and state. eMediaWire.com/BuyTelco Broadband Index, Jan. 22, 2004.
Other nations zip by USA in high-speed Net race
While the US has the most broadband subscribers, it trails 10 other nations in percentage penetration. USA Today, Jan. 19, 2004
US Falling Behind Other Nations in Broadband Penetration
Derived from USA Today story above. See the graphs by RAIN showing broadband penetration by nation. Jan. 22, 2004

*Note: “Users” signifies people connected to the Internet.

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