Over Half of US Households Subscribe to Broadband - US Broadband Penetration Grows to 82.2% Among Active Internet Users

Website Optimization is announcing today that 53% of all US households now subscribe to a broadband high-speed Internet service at home, according to Leichtman Research Group. Broadband services now account for about 72% of all home Internet subscriptions - compared to 60% last year.

Broadband adoption is strongly tied to household income. Just 45% of households with annual incomes below $30,000 subscribe to an Internet service at home - compared to 92% of households with annual incomes above $75,000. Broadband penetration among active Internet users grew to 82.18% in US homes in May, up over 10 percentage points from 71.76% last year.

Home Connectivity in the US

US broadband penetration grew to 82.18% among active Internet users in May 2007. Narrowband users connecting at 56Kbps or less now make up 17.82% of active Internet users, down 0.42 percentage points from 18.24% April 2007 (see Figure 1). http://www.websiteoptimization.com/bw/0706/

Broadband Growth Trends in the US

In May 2007, broadband penetration in US homes grew 0.42 percentage points to 82.18% up from 81.76% in April. This increase of 0.42 points is below the average increase in broadband of 0.86 points per month over the last six months (see Figure 2). http://www.websiteoptimization.com/bw/0706/

Work Connectivity
As of May 2007, 93.99% of US workers connected to the Internet with broadband, up 0.43 percentage points from the 93.46% share in April. At work 6.01% connect at 56Kbps or less (see Figure 3). http://www.websiteoptimization.com/bw/0706/

Further Reading:

Leichtman Research Group
http://www.leichtmanresearch.com/
LRG research notes of 2Q 2007 reported that 53% of all US households now subscribe to a high-speed broadband Internet service.

Nielsen//NetRatings
http://www.netratings.com/
Provided the US broadband penetration data for active Internet users for the Bandwidth Report.

Point Topic
http://point-topic.com/
Worldwide broadband subscribers approached 300 million at the end of March 2007. "Given the prevailing growth rates it is safe to assume that the number has now passed 300 million,” says Katja Mueller, Research Director at Point Topic. June 13, 2007.

For the full “June 2007 Bandwidth Report” visit http://www.websiteoptimization.com/bw/0706/

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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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