• by April 10, 2006

The number of U.S. subscribers to broadband high-speed Internet service jumped 32.3 percent to 42.9 million lines for the year ended June 2005, according to the Federal Communications Commission. This was an increase of 10.4 million lines over the 12-month period, with 5 million added during the second half of that period.

The United States ranks 12th in the world for broadband subscribers, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Part of the reason for the low ranking of the U.S. is that other countries have subsidized broadband service, and their populations live in areas that are easier to serve.

The FCC found that the majority of broadband connections in the U.S., 61 percent, were via cable modem service offered by companies like Comcast Corp. More than 37 percent of the connections were digital subscriber lines (DSL) offered by telephone companies like AT&T.

DSL service is generally less expensive than cable Internet service, but offers slower download speeds. The vast majority of cable customers receive between 2.5 megabits per second (Mbps) and 10 Mbps in at least one direction, while most DSL customers receive between 200 kilobits per second and 2.5 Mbps, according to the FCC.

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