• by August 13, 2001

(AP) - About 7.1 million homes and businesses had access to high-speed Internet connections by the end of last year, a 63% increase in six months.

There were subscribers in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico. and the Virgin Islands, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) said Thursday. Three-quarters of the nation's ZIP codes had at least one high-speed Internet subscriber, an increase from just over half at the end of 1999.

The number of Digital Subscriber Line connections, which run over telephone lines, doubled in the second half of last year to 2 million lines. But DSL connections still lag behind cable modems, which totaled 3.6 million, an increase of 57%.

Satellite and wireless high-speed connections still represent a small portion of the total market, but the number of those lines doubled last year, to about 112,000.

Rural high-speed penetration grew last year to 45%, compared to about a quarter of the rural ZIP codes a year earlier.

More poor people have high-speed Internet as well. There are subscribers in 56% of the poorest areas compared to 42% at the end of 1999, the FCC reported.

The FCC issues periodic summaries of broadband Internet penetration, and is charged with monitoring the rollout of those services to see how telecommunications companies are progressing. The companies must give updates twice a year, and the FCC will give its latest report to Congress in six months.

High-speed Internet service is essential for streaming audio and video, as well as large downloads.