• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, June 1, 2021

In another sign that American media consumption is returning to more normalized patterns, the rate of broadband data consumption for the average American household appears to have returned to its recent trend line, according to a MediaPost analysis of data from OpenVault.

After surging 47% in the first quarter of 2020 -- the first to include U.S. stay-at-home recommendations beginning in March -- the rate of growth has moderated to 15% in the first quarter of 2021, which is more in line with recently quarterly expansions.

"Although data usage moderated in the first quarter of 2021, after pandemic-fueled rapid growth last year, subscribers continued to adapt to the new broadband environment by embracing faster speeds," OpenVault noes in its first quarter 2021 "Broadband Insights" report.

The report also notes that slightly more than 80% of subscribers are provisioned for 100 Mbps speeds or higher, and that fewer than 5% are at 20 Mbps or slower.