Global broadband penetration growth is tracked here. We follow worldwide Internet uptake rankings as well as country by country rankings for broadband in usage per 100 inhabitants.
In order to compete worldwide, the US needs a "broadband czar" to coordinate how government agencies promote broadband. The average broadband speed in the US is more than ten times slower than Japan at four times the cost.
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The US fell from 15th to 17th place in broadband growth worldwide, according to a new survey from the OECD. Overall, the US remained at 15th place in broadband penetration worldwide, relying on cable to provide the majority of broadband connections while most of the leading countries rely on DSL.
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Europe will soon pass the US in wireless usage at current growth rates, according to a recent survey. The FCC has redefined how it measures broadband, more than tripling the defined speed and eliminating the zip-code designation.
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Japan leads the world with the fastest and lowest unit cost for broadband, according to recent data from the OECD. Japan enjoys costs per megabit per second over four times lower than that of the US. Iceland cooled off in global broadband penetration rankings falling from third to sixth from Q4 200 to Q2 2007, while the US remained in 15th place overall.
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Western European countries are adding broadband subscribers at a faster pace than the US and Canada, according to a recent report by Point Topic.
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53% of all US households now subscribe to broadband, according to Leichtman Research Group. Internet use is strongly tied to income. For US households with annual incomes above $75,000, 92% subscribe to an Internet service. Among active Internet users, 82.2% subscribe to broadband, up over 10 percentage points from last year.
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Questions over a recent OECD broadband report have caused a broadband brouhaha among the cognoscenti. Broadband penetration in US homes grew to 81.8% among active Internet users in April 2007.
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The US fell from 23rd to 25th place in worldwide broadband penetration in the last half of 2006, according to a recent survey by Point Topic. An OECD study confirms the slowdown, with US broadband growth falling below the OECD average. Meanwhile, US broadband penetration grew 0.65 percentage points to 80.81% among active Internet users in March 2007.
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The UK passed Japan and the US in broadband penetration during the first quarter of 2006. The UK's faster growth rate propelled it to second place in the G7, behind first place Canada. US broadband penetration grew only 0.27% among active Internet users to 76.6% in October 2006.
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China will pass the US in total broadband lines by the third quarter of 2006. UK broadband penetration will nearly double by 2008 and US broadband penetration among active Internet users broke 75% in September 2006.
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Despite leading the world in broadband subscribers, the US dropped from 17th to 20th place in broadband penetration over the past year. Falling behind Sweden, the UK, and tiny Luxembourg the US grew by only 27.1% to 44.5% penetration from March 2005 to March 2006. Meanwhile, US broadband penetration among active Internet users grew 1.34 percentage points to 73.1% in June 2006.
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China will pass the US in total broadband subscribers by the end of 2006. The US fell to 19th overall in broadband penetration worldwide, and is in danger of being passed by Slovenia in early 2007. Meanwhile, in December 2005 US broadband penetration broke 65% for the first time among active Internet users.
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The US has passed Singapore in broadband penetration among 100 inhabitants. US broadband penetration grew 1.3 percentage points to 63.8% among active Internet users in October 2005.
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The UK passed the US for the first time in broadband penetration on a per-capita basis in August. The US continued its fall to 13th in broadband penetration among all OECD countries, yet leads all countries surveyed in total broadband subscriptions. Finland, the Netherlands, and Norway lead the pack in broadband penetration growth.
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In response to the July FCC broadband report the Free Press concludes that the US is falling behind other countries in broadband speeds and penetration due to market and policy failures. US broadband penetration neared 60% in July 2005.
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In Britain, broadband penetration is a tale of haves and have-nots. Does Labour beat the Tory party in the race for broadband supremacy? US broadband penetration jumped by 1.42 percentage points to 58.46% in April 2005.
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Worldwide, over 62% of the Internet population uses broadband as their primary connection. While broadband penetration grew by 24% last year, narrowband connections still dominate many rural areas. In the US broadband penetration grew by 0.55 percentage points to 56.29% in February 2005.
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US broadband adoption crawled to 43% in January, up only 0.15% from December 2003. Sweden has the highest Internet penetration worldwide at 76.9%.
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US broadband adoption jumped to 42.85% in December, up 1.31 percentage points from 41.54% in November 2003. 57.15% of U.S. home users connect to the Internet with "narrowband" connections of 56Kbps or less.
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Iceland leads all countries in Internet subscribers per 100 inhabitants, according to the ITU's "Birth of Broadband" report. Broadband penetration in US homes increased by 1.09 percentage points in August to 38.9%.
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