January 2006 Internet Bandwidth Report: China will pass US in Broadband Lines by late 2006

Web Site Optimization, a leading web site optimization provider and publisher of the weblog: The Bandwidth Report, announced today that China will pass the US in total broadband subscribers by the end of 2006. For the full “January 2006 Bandwidth Report” visit http://www.websiteoptimization.com/bw/0601/

“At its current growth rate of over 90% per year, China will pass the US in total broadband subscribers by late 2006 to become the largest broadband country in the world.”

“The US fell to 19th overall in broadband penetration worldwide, and is in danger of being passed by Slovenia in early 2007. Meanwhile, US broadband penetration broke 65% for the first time among active Internet users in December 2005.”

At its current growth rate of over 90% a year, China should overtake the US in total broadband subscribers by the end of 2006.

“The US leads all countries with 42,172,000 total broadband subscribers (29.08% yearly growth), followed by China (28,182,000 subscribers), and Japan (21,056,000 subscribers). However, at its current growth rate of over 90% a year, China should overtake the US in total broadband subscribers by the end of 2006. China has a long way to go to match its neighbors in broadband penetration, however. China has a household penetration rate of 8.62% while the overall broadband penetration rate in Hong Kong is over 73%, South Korea is over 67%, and the US is 33.09%, as of Q3 2005.

US 19th overall in Broadband Penetration

Hong Kong leads all countries in household broadband penetration at 73.03%. South Korea follows at 67.32% but decreased for the first time, losing 1.42 percentage points from Q3 2004 to Q3 2005. Israel comes in third at 55.06% penetration and leads all countries in the Middle East and Africa for broadband penetration and usage. Of those countries in the top 20, Singapore leads in year-over-year growth at 5.63%, followed by Slovenia (4.28%), Finland (2.86%), Switzerland (2.53%), and the Netherlands (2.49%). At its current growth rate of 4.28%, Slovenia should pass the US in broadband penetration by early 2007, bringing the US down to 20th overall.

Hong Kong Leads Asia-Pacific Countries in Broadband Penetration

Hong Kong leads Pacific Rim countries in household broadband penetration at 73.03% as of Q3 2005. South Korea's next at 67.32%, followed by Taiwan (55.05%), Singapore (51.38%), Japan (44.46%), Australia (31.32%), and New Zealand (26.17%).

Home Connectivity in the US
US broadband penetration grew to 65.57% in December. Narrowband users (56Kbps or less) now comprise 34.43% of active Internet users, down 0.68 percentage points from 35.11% in November 2005.

Broadband Growth Trends in the US
In December 2005, broadband penetration in US homes rose 0.68 percentage points to 65.57%, up from 64.89% in November. This increase of 0.68 points is less than half the average monthly increase of 1.28 points in broadband penetration over the last six months. At the current growth rate, broadband penetration among active Internet users in US homes should break 70% by late March of 2006 (see Figure 6). Note that with the recent slowdown in growth, this projection has been pushed further into the future with each passing month.

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 December of 2005, of those connected to the Internet, 87.53% of US users at work enjoy a high-speed connection, up 0.18 percentage points from the 87.35% share in November. At work, 12.47% connect at 56Kbps or less.

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About http://www.websiteoptimization.com/bw/] The Bandwidth Report[/url]

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 January 2006 Bandwidth Report is available at:
http://www.websiteoptimization.com/bw/0601/

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.

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