• by Masha Geller , January 15, 2003

Here’s something slightly unexpected. According to the latest monthly ratings from Nielsen//NetRatings, older age Internet users were the fastest growing segment using broadband.

According to NetRatings data, nearly three million surfers ages 55-64 accessed the Web via cable, DSL, ISDN or other high-speed connections, surging 78% year-over-year. More than 3.1 million Internet users ages 50-54 logged online using faster connections last month, up 75%, while seniors ages 65-99 recorded a 67% increase to nearly 1.3 million.

At the other end of the spectrum, the youngest online users also reported higher growth rates in high-speed access. Broadband usage among teenagers ages 12-17 rose 66% in December to nearly 4.2 million, while kids ages 2-11 posted three million users, jumping 62% since last year.

Overall, broadband access at home continues to post double-digit growth with a 59% year-over-year increase, marking more than 33.6 million Internet users who accessed the Web via high-speed in December 2002.

Broadband users also spent more time online, conducted more online visits and viewed more pages than narrowband Web surfers during the month. High-speed surfers spent an average of 17 hours and 20 minutes online last month, while time spent for dial-up users averaged less than 10 hours during the same timeframe. Broadband users also conducted nearly 15 more visits while viewing over 1,300 pages per person, more than double the amount of pages accessed by their narrowband counterparts.

Even as narrowband users comprise the bulk of the U.S. online population, dial-up access declined 10% last month. More than 74.4 million accessed the Internet through narrowband, with connection speeds ranging from 14.4-56K.

Not surprisingly, men comprised 52% of all broadband users, while women made up 53% of all narrowband surfers.