More US broadband helps publishers

High-speed Internet connections now exists in 53 percent of all US households, according to a new report by the New Hampshire-based Leichtman Research Group

The report is sure to satisfy digital magazine publishers who rely on broadband to make their projects succeed.

Broadband Access and Service in the Home 2007 finds broadband services account for 72 percent of all US home Internet subscriptions, up from 60 percent in the company’s last survey.

Broadband adoption is affected by household income. Broadband reaches 68 per cent of households with annual income over US$50,000, up from 59 percent last year. By contrast, 39 per cent of households with income under US$50,000 subscribe to broadband services, an increase from 27 per cent.

In Q1 of 2007, 2.9 million US households initiated high-speed Internet service. The top 19 cable and telephone providers, which represents 94 per cent of the broadband market, account for 56.2 million subscriber accounts.

Cable accounts for over 30.7 million subscribers, and telephone companies serve over 25.4 million broadband subscribers.

Adoption of high-speed Internet services is expected to reach 70 percent of all U.S. households by 2012, according to a new report by another US research organisation. Jupiter Research. This 70 per cent of US households represents around 86 million homes.

Wider availability of high-speed service is expected to attract 36 million new subscribers to broadband by 2012. Price reductions will make the service more attractive, while higher transmission rates and bundled services will drive users to cable.

Meanwhile, dial-up service still currently serves 33 million Internet users, though two-thirds or more narrowband Internet users could soon be moving to broadband service. The shift to faster Internet service is due to high-bandwidth applications such as video and rich media applications.