The number of U.S. households with broadband access has topped the 43 million mark, according to a new study from the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA). This compares with just two million in 1999.
However, the U.S. now ranks 15th in the world in high-speed Internet penetration. Asian countries top the list, with South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan all having higher than 50 percent penetration, and Japan coming close to the half-way mark with 49 percent. Many Northern and Western European countries also outpace the U.S. in broadband adoption, including the Netherlands, France, Denmark and Sweden. In addition, Canada has broadband penetration that is higher the U.S.
The CEA study found that dial-up Internet access is on a notable decline in the U.S. In 2000, dial-up Internet connections accounted for 74 percent of all U.S. residential Internet connections. This figure dropped to 60 percent by 2003, and currently stands at 36 percent. Additionally, the new research shows that cable Internet access has lost ground when it comes to customer value and popularity. In October 2000, cable broadband accounted for 15 percent of all Internet connections, compared to four percent for DSL. By March 2006, cable and DSL were head to head, each with 29 percent of the residential Internet market.
In addition, 33% of non-owning high-definition television (HDTV) households are interested in having a professional install an HDTV in the next two years. This translates into 20.5 million households. Large numbers of households are also interested in having digital video recorders (DVR) and distributed audio systems installed.
http://www.ce.org
