• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, May 11, 2004

Broadband Penetration Over 50% By July

According to Comcast, overall broadband grew by 0.82% in March, with 45.97% of Internet- enabled U.S. households enjoying a high-speed connection. 54.03% of US home users dial into the Internet with "narrowband" connections of 56Kbps or less.

Canada's broadband lead over the US shrank by 9.2%. While US broadband penetration grew by 12.2% over the past year, Canadian broadband penetration grew by just 3% from 64% to 67% over the same time period.

Nielsen//NetRatings and Ipsos-Reid data show trends in connection speeds to the Internet for users in the United States and Canada:

As of March 2004, most users in the US connect to the Internet using dial-up modems of 56Kbps or less.

• 44.42% use 56Kbps modems,
• 6.88% use 28/33.3Kbps, and
• 2.73% use 14.4Kbps modems.
• 54.03% of home users in total in the US connect to the Internet at 56Kbps or less

Broadband penetration in US homes increased by 0.82% in March.

• As of March 2004 broadband penetration was at 45.97%, up from 45.15% in February
• The average increase in broadband was 0.76% per month from October 1999 to February 2004.
• Broadband share in the US should exceed 50% by July of 2004.

Most workers in the US use a high-speed line such as a T1 connection, and share bandwidth between computers connected to an Ethernet network.

• As of March of 2004, of those connected to the Internet, 78.8% of US users at work enjoy a high-speed connection, up from 77.2% in February.
• 21.2% connect from work at 56Kbps or less.

Since March 2003, US broadband penetration has grown by 12.2% from 33.8% to 46%, while Canadian broadband penetration has grown just 3%, from 64% to 67%. Canadian broadband penetration may be reaching a saturation point like Korea did when it reached 70% broadband penetration.