August 2005 Bandwidth Report by Web Site Optimization - FCC Ignores Digital Divide While US Broadband Drops Worldwide - US Broadband Penetration Nears 60% in July

The Free Press, Consumers Union, and the Consumer Federation of America respond to the July FCC report with a report titled "Broadband Reality Check" claiming that the US government is stifling broadband competition in favor of the DSL/Cable duopoly. Meanwhile, the US has dropped from 13th to 16th worldwide in broadband penetration. In July, U.S. broadband penetration jumped 1.35 percentage points to 59.92% among active Internet users. By August, US broadband penetration should break 60%. The charts below, derived from Nielsen//NetRatings, ITU, and OECD data, show trends in connection speeds to the Internet for users in the United States and other countries.* (For the full “August 2005 Bandwidth Report” visit Web Site Optimization http://www.websiteoptimization.com/bw/0508/

FCC Ignores Digital Divide While US Broadband Drops Worldwide
In response to the July FCC report cited last month the Free Press, Consumers Union, and the Consumer Federation of America make a compelling case that US government policy is widening the digital divide in the US in their report Broadband Reality Check: The FCC ignores America's Digital Divide (PDF, 763K). Despite FCC Chairman's Kevin Martin's statement in the Wall Street Journal (July 27, 2005) that the United States “leads the world in total number of broadband connections” and “broadband platforms are engaged in fierce competition” on a per-capita basis the US has dropped from 13th to 16th among nations globally in broadband penetration with 11.4 connections per 100 inhabitants (see Figure 1). This drop follows last year's fall from 11th to 13th. The report concludes that the US is falling behind in broadband speeds due to market and policy failures. (For the full “August 2005 Bandwidth Report” visit Web Site Optimization http://www.websiteoptimization.com/bw/0508/

The Netherlands to pass Korea in Broadband Penetration
While Korea leads all nations in broadband penetration (24.9 subscribers per 100 inhabitants, see Figure 1), the Netherlands is poised to surpass Korea by the end of 2005 in broadband penetration. The Netherlands, Switzerland, and Norway lead all OECD countries in broadband growth rates.

Home Connectivity in the US:
Most active Internet users connect from home with broadband connections. In the US, Narrowband users (56Kbps or less) comprise 40.08% of active Internet users, down 1.35 percentage points from 41.43% in June 2005 (see Figure 3).

Broadband Growth Trends in the US
Broadband penetration in the US grew by 1.35 percentage points to 59.92% in July, up from 58.57% in June. This increase is above the average increase in broadband of 1.14 points per month over the last five months. At the current growth rate of over 1.1 percentage points per month, broadband penetration among active Internet users in the US should break 60% by August 2005, and 70% by January of 2006.

Work Connectivity
Most workers in the US enjoy high-speed connections to the Internet. Most use a high-speed line such as a T1 connection, and share bandwidth between computers connected to an Ethernet network. The speed of each connection decreases as more employees hook up to the LAN. As of July of 2005, of those connected to the Internet, 81.64% of US users at work enjoy a high-speed connection, up 0.09 percentage points from the 81.55% share in June. At work, 18.36% connect at 56Kbps or less.

Overall US Broadband Penetration

Using data from the FCC and the US Census, the overall broadband penetration rate in the US is 28.7%. This was calculated by dividing the total number of lines in residential and small business subscribers by the number of US Postal Service addresses. So the overall broadband penetration rate in the US is 35.26 million divided by 122.8 million which equals 28.7%. You can see that the overall broadband penetration rate is about half of the broadband penetration rate for Internet users (the figure we report above). This ratio is similar to what we've seen in other countries.

About The Bandwidth Report

The Bandwidth Report is a monthly roundup of connectivity trends in the US and elsewhere. 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

The August 2005 Bandwidth Report is available at:
http://www.websiteoptimization.com/bw/0508/

About Web Site Optimization

Don't Make Me Wait! The new book titled "Speed Up Your Site – Web Site Optimization" by Andy King, and the companion web site are about designing "speedy" web sites with techniques that…

* Cut file size and download times in half
* Speed up site load time to satisfy customers
* Engage users with fast response times and flow stimulus
* Increase usability, boost profits, and slash bandwidth costs
* Improve search engine rankings and web page conversions

Andy King is also the founder of WebReference.com and JavaScript.com, both award-winning developer sites from internet.com. Created in 1995 and subsequently acquired by Mecklermedia (now Jupitermedia) in 1997, WebReference has grown into one of the most popular developer sites on the Internet. While he was Managing Editor of WebReference.com and JavaScript.com, Andy became the "Usability Czar" at internet.com, where he optimized the speed and usability of their sites. In addition to his consulting work, he continues to
write the monthly Bandwidth Report and the “Speed Tweak of the Week” for www.WebSiteOptimization.com.

Media Contact: Matt Hockin at 503.246.1375 for an interview with the author or a review copy of Speed Up Your Site - Web Site Optimization http://www.interactivemarketinginc.com matt(at)interactivemarketinginc.com