New Jersey Leads Nation in Broadband Penetration - US Workplace Broadband Breaks 90% - August 2006 Bandwidth Report

Website Optimization is announcing today that New Jersey edged out Hawaii to lead all states in broadband penetration with 48.6% of NJ households subscribing to a high speed connection. Mississippi trails all states with 14.4% of households on broadband at the beginning of 2006. Meanwhile, workplace broadband penetration broke 90% for the first time in July 2006. US broadband penetration among active Internet users grew 0.76 percentage points to 73.86% in July 2006.

New Jersey Edges Hawaii in Residential Broadband Penetration

New Jersey has the highest broadband penetration rate among the fifty states at 48.6%, according to Leichtman Research Group. Hawaii was a close second at 48.5%, followed by Connecticut at 47.7%, Massachusetts at 45.9%, and California at 44.8% home broadband penetration (see Figure 1). These residential penetration rates are well above the national average of 35.1%. Mississippi trails all states with 14.4% broadband penetration, followed by South Dakota at 16.1%, North Dakota with 17.3%, Kentucky at 20.9%, and Louisiana at 21.3%.

Home Connectivity in the US

US broadband penetration among active Internet users grew to 73.86% in July 2006. Narrowband users connecting at 56Kbps or less now comprise 26.14% of active Internet users, down 0.76 percentage points from 26.9% in June (see Figure 2).

Broadband Growth Trends in the US

In July 2006, broadband penetration in US homes grew 0.76 percentage points to 73.86% up from 73.1% in June. This increase of 0.76 points is below the average increase in broadband of 1.26 points per month over the last six months (see Figure 3). At current growth rates US broadband should break 80% among active Internet users by December 2006.

Work Connectivity

Workplace broadband penetration broke 90% for the first time in July. As of July 2006, 90.32% of US workers were on broadband, up 0.48 percentage points from the 89.84% share in June. At work 9.68% connect at 56Kbps or less (see Figure 4).

US Internet Penetration

69% of U.S. households with a fixed phone line have Internet access. Nielsen//NetRatings and Leichtman Research Group's annual broadband study both confirm this figure. Per person, 74% of people age 2+ in U.S. households with a fixed phone line have Internet access.

For the full “August 2006 Bandwidth Report” visit http://www.websiteoptimization.com/bw/0608/

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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

About Website 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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