Broadband Proves Popular

Number of users with high-speed connections has tripled in the last three years.

Grant Gross, IDG News Service

The number of broadband users in the U.S. nearly tripled in the past two and a half years to more than 48 million subscribers, according to a report released this week by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission.

High-speed lines providing connectivity of more than 200 kilobits per second in at least one direction almost tripled from June 2001 to December 2003, from 9.6 million lines to 28.2 million lines, according to the FCC report. The number of subscribers to advanced services providing connection speeds of more than 200 kbps in both directions has more than tripled since the FCC's last report, from 5.9 million lines in June 2001 to 20.3 million lines in December 2003.

Cable modem and DSL services provided the vast majority of advanced services lines, with cable representing 75.3 percent and DSL representing 14.9 percent. The percentage of cable lines increased from the 2001 report, when 56 percent of broadband lines were cable, according to the FCC.

About 18.1 million residential and small business customers subscribed to the faster advanced services lines in late 2003, compared to 4.3 million lines in 2001, according to the FCC.

As of December 2003, only 6.8 percent of U.S. ZIP codes reported no high-speed lines, compared to 22.2 percent of ZIP codes with no reported lines in June 2001. There has also been significant growth in the percent of ZIP codes reporting four or more providers of high-speed lines, from 27.5 percent in June 2001 to 46.3 percent in December 2003.

Turning the Corner

The report shows the U.S. has "turned the corner on the digital migration," FCC Chairman Michael Powell says.

"This country finds its greatest strength in its diversity," Powell says in a statement. "Today's report shows that America's broadband future is built on the most diverse--and therefore strongest--foundation possible. It describes a marketplace of increasing choice built upon multiple broadband platforms."

But Commissioner Michael Copps notes that the U.S. is ranked seventh among nations in broadband penetration. In Japan and South Korea, consumers can get speeds of more than 8000 kbps for similar prices that U.S. customers pay for much slower speeds, he says.

"Why... is the FCC still collecting data about 200 kbps service and calling it broadband?" he says in a statement.

Copps is calling for a comprehensive U.S. strategy to improve broadband services.