Website Optimization Announces that US Broadband Penetration Growth Drops to 17th Worldwide as US Broadband Use Grows to 89.3% among Active Internet Users

Website Optimization is announcing today that US broadband penetration growth dropped from 15th to 17th place worldwide, from June 2007 to December 2007. Overall, US broadband penetration remained at 15th place among all countries surveyed, according to the OECD. The slower growth of US broadband appears to be due to a lack of choice for consumers, an overreliance on cable, and low DSL and fiber penetration. Meanwhile, US broadband penetration rose 0.43 percentage points to 89.3% among active Internet users.

US Broadband Growth Drops to 17th Worldwide - The US fell from 15th to 17th place in broadband growth worldwide, from June 2007 to December 2007. Compared to the rest of the world, the US has dropped in rankings from an above average increase of 4.2 high speed inhabitants in the year ending Q2 2007, to an average increase of 3.08 inhabitants in the year ending Q4 2007 (see Figure 1). http://www.websiteoptimization.com/bw/0805/

US Broadband Penetration Remains at 15th Worldwide - The United States remained at 15th in broadband penetration worldwide, according to the OECD (see Figure 2). The latest December 2007 data showed no change in rankings since the June 2007 broadband penetration report. Iceland jumped from 6th to 3rd place, while Switzerland dropped from 3rd to 6th place. Australia dropped from 12th to 16th, while Germany rose from 16th to 14th place worldwide.

Worldwide Broadband Penetration by Technology - The composition of US broadband shows that cable makes up the majority of broadband subscribers (see Figure 3). Cable constitutes 12 subscribers per 100 inhabitants in the US, while DSL makes up 10 subscribers per 100 inhabitants, and fiber makes up only 0.6 subscribers for a total of 23.3 broadband subscribers per 100 inhabitants. In contrast to the US, thirteen of the fourteen countries ahead of the US in penetration use DSL for the majority of their broadband connections. Only Korea has a lower DSL penetration rate of 9.5, however Korea also has a fiber penetration rate of 10.4 broadband subscribers per 100 inhabitants. So the slow growth of US broadband appears to be due to underutilized DSL and fiber technology, and an overreliance on cable to provide broadband.

For the full “May 2008 Bandwidth Report” visit
http://www.websiteoptimization.com/bw/0805/

About The Bandwidth Report

The Bandwidth Report is a monthly roundup of connectivity trends in the US and elsewhere compiled by Website Optimization Each month's bandwidth report offers the latest statistics in Internet connectivity and broadband trends, including:

* Home Connectivity in the US;
* Broadband Growth in the US;
* Work Connectivity;
* Broadband Trends in the US, Canada, and other countries.