Broadband Internet access growing speedily
89.9 million U.S. households will have broadband Internet access by 2011—69.3% of what will be America’s then 129.7 million total households, new research says.
The growth of broadband access will increase steadily from 2007 through 2011, , according to a newly released study by Internet marketing research firm eMarketer:
2007, 65 million households, 53.6% of total households;
2008, 74.1 million, 60.1%;
2009, 81.1 million, 64.6%;
2010, 86.2 million, 67.6%;
2011, 89.9 million, 69.3%
EMarketer defines broadband as an Internet connection of at least 200kbps in at least one direction; this includes ADSL, cable, satellite, fixed wireless, fiber, powerline, WiMAX and emerging broadband technologies accessible through a home.
At the end of 2006 there were approximately 250 million broadband households worldwide; the United States and China were the two largest broadband markets, with 54.6 million and 46.6 million broadband households, respectively, the study reports. This represented 45.9% of U.S. households and 12.6% of Chinese households.
Sheer numbers do not paint a complete picture of broadband development, though, says Ben Macklin, eMarketer senior analyst and author of the “Broadband Worldwide: 2005-2011” study.
“Countries such as South Korea, Japan and, to a lesser extent, the United States are entering a new phase of broadband development,” he says. “The market is moving from high-speed Internet to very-high-speed Internet.” This involves Internet users moving from common broadband technology to new, higher-bandwidth technology such as optical fiber.
“Greater bandwidth availability doesn’t merely represent technology and infrastructure opportunities: It is opening up a wide array of opportunities for online marketing and content distribution, too,” Macklin adds. “As consumers get more, they will want more, and that will be one of the key drivers of global broadband expansion in the coming years.”
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