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.*
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).
Figure 1: Web Connection Speed Trends - Home Users (US)
Source: Nielsen//NetRatings
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).
Figure 2: Broadband Connection Speed Trend - Home Users (US)
Extrapolated by Web Site Optimization, LLC from Nielsen//NetRatings data
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).
Figure 3: Web Connection Speed Trends - Work Users (US)
Source: Nielsen//NetRatings
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.
*Note: "Users" signifies people connected to the Internet.
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