Cybertelecom Federal Internet Law & Policy An Educational Project

Statistics :: Broadband

See Subscriber Charts: Internet Subs by Physical Network

See National Broadband Map

"Broadband technologies are currently being deployed by the private sector throughout the United States. According to the latest FCC data on the deployment of high-speed Internet connections (released July 7, 2005), as of December 31, 2004, there were 37.9 million high peed lines connecting homes and businesses to the Internet in the United States, a growth rate of 17% during the second half of 2004. Of the 37.9 million high speed lines reported by the FCC, 35.3 million serve homes and small businesses. The FCC found at least one high speed subscriber in 95% of all zip codes in the United States. While the broadband adoption rate stands at approximately 35% of U.S. households, broadband availability is much higher. The FCC estimates that roughly 20 percent of consumers with access to advanced telecommunications capability actually subscribe. According to the FCC, possible reasons for the gap between broadband availability and subscribership include the lack of computers in some homes, price of broadband service, lack of content, and the availability of broadband at work.

"According to the International Telecommunications Union, the U.S. ranks 16th worldwide in broadband penetration (subscriptions per 100 inhabitants as of December 2004). Similarly, data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) found the U.S. ranking 12th among OECD nations in broadband access per 100 inhabitants as of December 2004. By contrast, in 2001 an OECD study found the U.S. ranking 4th in broadband subscribership per 100 inhabitants (after Korea, Sweden, and Canada)".- Broadband Internet Regulation and Access: Background and Issues, CRS p. 5 Jan. 26, 2006 OpenCRS

Tom Bleha on Charlie Rose
discussing his article "Down to the Wire" in Foreign Affairs

Laws

• Broadband Data Improvement Act (P.L. 110-385) requires the FCC to prepare international comparisons of broadband service
  • "The Broadband Data Im provement Act (BDIA) requires the Commission to include in its annual broadband progress report “information comp aring the extent of broadband service capability (including data transmission speeds and price for broadband service capability) in a total of 75 communities in at least 25 countries abroad for each of the data rate benchmarks for broadband service utilized by the Commission to reflect different speed tiers.” 24 The BDIA directs the Commission to assess broadband capability in international communities co mparable to U.S. communities with resp population size, population density, to pography, and demographic profile. ect to 25 The Commission is also directed to include “a geographically diverse selection of countries” and “communities including the capital cities of such countries.” 26 The Commission must “identify relevant similarities and differences in each community, including their mark et structures, the number of competitors, the number of facilities- based providers, the types of technologies deployed by such providers, the applications and services those technologies enable, the regulatory model under which br oadband service capability is provided, the types of applications and services used, business and reside ntial use of such services, and other media available to consumers.”" International Broadband Data Report (Third) para. 12
  • International Broadband Data Report (Third)
  • International Comparison Requirements Pursuant to the Broadband Data Improvement Act International Broadband Data Report , IB Docket No. 10-171, Second Report, 26 FCC Rcd 7378 (2011)
  • International Broadband Data Report (First)
  • OECD Technical Workshop, Broadband and Its Impact on Consumers and Economies: Developing a New Framework for Future Metrics Oct. 2011
  • See also Sec. 706 Inquiry Concerning the Deployment of Advanced Telecommunications Capability to All Americans in a Reasonable and Timely Fashion, and Possible Steps to Accelerate Such Deployment Pursuant to Section 706 of the Telecommunications of 1996, as Amended by the Broadband Data Improvement Act, 26 FCC Rcd 11800, 11812-13 (2011). asking about how to improve the IBDR data gathering process

Reports

• FCC Data (See Sec. 706)
• OECD
  • OECD broadband statistics update, OECD 12/8/2010
  • The Future of the Internet Economy: A statistical profile, OECD 6/16/2008
  • OECD broadband up 18% in 2007 but new report says more could be done, OECD 5/22/2008
  • OECD updates broadband portal with December 2007 data, OECD 5/22/2008
  • Understanding International Broadband Comparisons, NextGenWeb 5/22/2008
  • OECD broadband up 18% in 2007 but new report says more could be done, OECD 5/20/2008
  • OECD broadband statistics, Telecom Industry and Regulation 12/4/2007
  • OECD Broadband Portal, PFF 11/13/2007
  • OECD launches new broadband portal, Info and Comm Policy 11/8/2007
  • Aiming at the Wrong Target, Verizon 7/24/2007
  • Is U.S. broadband access truly lagging?, CNET 7/18/2007
  • Broadband prices per megabit around the world, MuniWireless 7/10/2007
  • U.S. Improves Broadband Penetration Rankings - By one spot, from 25th to 24th..., DSLreports 8/24/2007
  • OECD report on communications convergence and impact on competition, OECD 6/6/2008
  • How is the OECD Different From the FCC? OECD Takes It's Number Seriously., Tales from the Sausage Factory 5/30/2007
  • OECD Broadband Statistics to December 2006, OECD 4/24/2007
  • U.S. Drops Further In Global Broadband Rankings - New OECD data now puts U.S. 15th in broadband penetration, Broadband Reports 4/24/2007
  • NTIA Fact Sheet on Broadband Use in the United States, NTIA 4/27/2007
  • OECD Broadband Statistics, June 2006, OECD 10/17/2006
  • OECD Broadband Statistics, December 2005
  • Internet Traffic Exchange: Market Developments and Measurement of Growth, OECD 4/12/2006
    • Europe moves to top of OECD broadband rankings, OECD 4/12/2006
    • OECD Broadband Statistics, December 2005, OECD 4/12/2006
    • Iceland: We're No 1 In Broadband!, Networking Pipeline 4/12/2006
    • Global Broadband Stats - U.S. tops in totals, twelfth in penetration, Broadband Reports 4/12/2006
    • US really lags in broadband: 12th according to the OECD, Muniwireless 4/12/200
  • OECD, ICCP Broadband Update (Oct. 2003)
    • International Broadband Penetration as of Dec 2001

    Country	Broadband Households (in thousands)	Broadband As  % if Total  Households	Internet Households (in thousands)	Internet As % Of total Households
    United States	11,200	10.4	56,376	52.3
    South Korea	7500	51.7	8265	57.0
    Japan	2570	5.8	21497	48.2
    Canada	2300	19.7	6505	55.6
    Germany	2090	5.4	14,858	39.1
    Taiwan	112	18.2	2604	42.0
    France	605	2.5	7448	30.4
    Netherlands	550	8.1	4196	61.7
    Hong Kong	545	26.0	1241	59.1
    Sweden	542	13.4	2546	62.1

• US Department of Commerce (NTIA)
  • Exploring the Digital Nation, Computer and Internet Use at Home, US Department of Commerce (Nov. 2011)
  • National Telecommunications and Information Administration. “Digital Nation: Expanding Internet Usage.” February 2011, http://www.ntia.doc.gov/report/2011/ digital-nation-expanding-internet-usage-ntia-research-preview
  • Economics and Statistics Administration and National Telecommunications and Information Administration. “Exploring the Digital Nation: Home Broadband Internet Adoption in the United States.” November 2010. http://www.esa.doc.gov/Reports/ exploring-digital-nation-home-broadband-Internet-adoption-united-states
  • National Telecommunications and Information Administration. Digital Nation: 21st Century America’s Progress Toward Universal Broadband Internet Access, February 2010. http://www.ntia.doc.gov/files/ntia/publications/ntia_internet_use_report_february_2011.pdf
  • Networked Nation: Broadband in America, 2007,
    • News Release: NTIA today released the report, "Networked Nation: Broadband in America, 2007," that highlights the dramatic growth of broadband in the United States.  The report shows that the Administration's technology, regulatory and fiscal policies have stimulated innovation and competition, and encouraged investment in the U.S. broadband market contributing to significantly increased accessibility of broadband services.

      "Today's report shows the nation's broadband success story.  The President's policies have made a significant impact on the availability and affordability of broadband in the United States," said U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez.  "The broadband policies put in place by the President have created a competitive environment to foster innovation and provide effective technologies, services and cost-effective solutions to revolutionize health care delivery, education, society and the economy.  We look forward to continuing our progress on this issue."

      Four years ago, President Bush established a national goal of universal, affordable broadband access for all Americans.  Since then, the United States has witnessed remarkable results in the growth of the broadband marketplace and the proliferation of broadband platforms and service options.  The existing data indicate that broadband is available to the vast majority of U.S. households:

      • According to the FCC's 2006 data, broadband service was available in 99 percent of the nation's zip codes, encompassing 99 percent of the nation's population;
      • Since President Bush took office, the total number of broadband lines in the United States has grown by more than 1,100 percent from almost 6.8 million lines in December 2000, to 82.5 million in December 2006, according to the most recent FCC data. 
      • By December 2006, 91.5 percent of ZIP codes had three or more competing service providers and more than 50 percent of the nation's ZIP codes had six or more competitors.

      The report examines the comprehensive package of technology, regulatory, and fiscal polices implemented by the Administration to lower barriers to investment and create an environment in which broadband innovation and competition can flourish.

    • News
      • Taking Credit Where None is Due (NTIA Broadband Report), Global Crossing 2/15/2008
      • Pathetic NTIA Broadband Report: Inflated ZIP Codes and BPL, Peerflow 2/13/2008
      • COMMISSIONER MICHAEL J. COPPS QUESTIONS NTIA'S BROADBAND REPORT, FCC 2/7/2008
      • COMMISSIONER JONATHAN S. ADELSTEIN RESPONDS TO NTIA REPORT ON BROADBAND, FCC 2/7/2008
      • NTIA Says Bush Has Met Broadband Goals - Findings based on flawed data, dslreports 2/4/2008
      • George Bush Claims Broadband Mission Accomplished, Open Left 2/4/2008
      • Gutierrez Hails Dramatic Broadband Growth, NTIA 1/31/2008
      • Ignoring Reality, Bush Declares Broadband Mission Accomplished, Free Press 1/31/2008
      • Bush Administration Broadband Report Distorts Reality, PK 1/31/2008
• ITU
  • Broadband: A Platform for Progress, A Report by the Broadband Commission for Digital Develoement, ITU June 2011
  • The Broadband Bridge: Linking ICT with Climate Change, March 2012
  • ITU: Birth of Broadband, ITU Internet Report, (Sept 2003) Figure 1.3 page 3
    • Broadband Adoption Rates Around the World
    • Broadband adoption, subscribers per 100 inhabitants, by technology, 2002
    • Korea 21.3
    • Hong Kong 14.9
    • Canada 11.2
    • Taiwan 9.4
    • Denmark 8.6
    • Belgium 8.4
    • Iceland 8.4
    • Sweden 7.8
    • Netherlands  7.2
    • Japan  7.1
    • United States 6.9
    • Austria  6.6
    • Switzerland  6.3
    • Singapore 5.5
    • Finland  5.3
    • Birth of Broadband, ITU Internet Report, (Sept 2003) Figure 1.1, page
• Cisco Visual Networking Index Usage Study 2010

International Broadband Rankings

Subs per 100 Inhabitants

Other Rankings

FCC Proceeding

Comment Sought On International Comparison And Consumer Survey Requirements In The Broadband Data Improvement Act GN Docket No. 09-47

• Comment Date: April 10, 2009
• Reply Comment Date: April 17, 2009

In this Public Notice, we seek comment on how the Commission should implement sections 103(b) and 103(c)(1) of the Broadband Data Improvement Act (BDIA). These sections impose new broadband data collection and reporting obligations on the Commission by requiring the Commission to include an international comparison in its annual broadband report and to conduct a consumer survey of broadband service capability.

Specifically, s ection 103(b) of the BDIA provides:

(b) INTERNATIONAL COMPARISON.-

(1) IN GENERAL.-As part of the assessment and report required by section 706 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 (47 U.S.C. 157 note), the Federal Communications Commission shall include information comparing the extent of broadband service capability (including data transmission speeds and price for broadband service capability) in a total of 75 communities in at least 25 countries abroad for each of the data rate benchmarks for broadband service utilized by the Commission to reflect different speed tiers.

(2) CONTENTS.-The Commission shall choose communities for the comparison under this subsection in a manner that will offer, to the extent possible, communities of a population size, population density, topography, and demographic profile that are comparable to the population size, population density, topography, and demographic profile of the various communities within the United States. The Commission shall include in the comparison under this subsection-

(A) a geographically diverse selection of countries; and

(B) communities including the capital cities of such countries.

(3) SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES.-The Commission shall identify relevant similarities and differences in each community, including their market structures, the number of competitors, the number of facilities-based providers, the types of technologies deployed by such providers, the applications and services those technologies enable, the regulatory model under which broadband service capability is provided, the types of applications and services used, business and residential use of such services, and other media available to consumers.

The Commission invites parties to comment on how the Commission can effectively implement the international comparison of broadband service capability, including speeds and prices, required by section 103(b). We seek comment on the criteria in section 103(b)(2) for the identification and selection of the communities to be included in the survey. We seek comment on the enumerated indicators in section 103(b)(3) for the identification of "relevant similarities and differences in each community" as well as any additional indicators that commenters seek to propose. We also seek comment on all possible sources of data that the Commission should examine in the course of implementing this section of the BDIA. Finally, we seek comment on any other factors or issues the Commission should consider in implementing section 103(b) of the BDIA.

Section 103(c)(1) of the BDIA provides:

(c) CONSUMER SURVEY OF BROADBAND SERVICE CAPABILITY.-

(1) IN GENERAL.-For the purpose of evaluating, on a statistically significant basis, the national characteristics of the use of broadband service capability, the Commission shall conduct and make public periodic surveys of consumers in urban, suburban, and rural areas in the large business, small business, and residential consumer markets to determine-

(A) the types of technology used to provide the broadband service capability to which consumers subscribe;

(B) the amounts consumers pay per month for such capability;

(C) the actual data transmission speeds of such capability;

(D) the types of applications and services consumers most frequently use in conjunction with such capability;

(E) for consumers who have declined to subscribe to broadband service capability, the reasons given by such consumers for declining such capability;

(F) other sources of broadband service capability which consumers regularly use or on which they rely; and

(G) any other information the Commission deems appropriate for such purpose.

The Commission invites parties to comment on how the Commission can effectively implement the survey requirements in section 103(c)(1), including any factors or issues the Commission should consider as part of this implementation.

Broadband Data Improvement Act of 2008, Pub. L. No. 110-385, 122 Stat. 4097 (codified at 47 U.S.C. §§ 1301-04).

BDIA § 103(b); 47 U.S.C. § 1303(b).

BDIA § 103(c)(1); 47 U.S.C. § 1303(c)(1).

We recognize that, while the Commission previously raised related issues of whether and how the Commission should undertake broadband customer surveys in a pending proceeding, the BDIA mandates that we conduct and publish such a survey. See Development of Nationwide Broadband Data to Evaluate Reasonable and Timely Deployment of Advanced Services to All Americans, Improvement of Wireless Broadband Subscribership Data, and Development of Data on Interconnected Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) Subscribership , WC Docket No. 07-38, Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, 23 FCC Rcd 9691, 9712, para. 40 (2008).

Released:  03/31/2009.  COMMENT SOUGHT ON INTERNATIONAL COMPARISON AND CONSUMER SURVEY REQUIREMENTS IN THE BROADBAND DATA IMPROVEMENT ACT. (DA No.  09-741). (Dkt No 09-47). Comments Due:  04/10/2009. Reply Comments
Due:  04/17/2009.  WCB. Contact:  Randy Clarke or Jeremy Miller at 0940 TXTx

Analysis and Criticism of Internet Rankings and Statistics

US is falling behind

• "The United States is behind in broadband deployment, speed and price. Despite what some advocates and analysts claim, the United States is behind in broadband performance and its rank has been falling since 2001." [ITIF VII]

Differences between countries

• General variables / differences
  • Countries with "robust national broadband strategies" fare better then those countries without
  • Levels of competition matter
  • Demand side issues matter such as ownership of computers
  • Per capita income
  • Percent of the population that are internet users
  • Price of broadband
  • Median age of population
• Teledensity
  • 50% of South Korea live in high teledensity, large apartment buildings - the cost of deployment of infrastructure to these apartment buildings is significantly less than deployment to single homes or more suburban environments. [ITIF VII, p. 10]
  • The USA has large rural areas with low teledensity, making infrastructure deployment expensive.
  • The USA has the longest copper loop lengths of the 13 OECD countries where this data is available - making DSL deployment expensive and difficult. [ITIF VII]
• Govt Policy
  • Government incentives are a factor
  • "S. Korean government's certificant system, implemented in 1999 for broadband Internet-equipped buildings to expedite expansion of broadband Internet services . . . requires all newly constructed buildings in S Korea to be designed to enable high speed broadband connections, such as locating DSL access multiplexers (DSLAMs) or cable head-ends in apartment basements." [ITIF p 10]
• In Japan, the govt has a significant ownership interest in the telecom provider NTT

Problems with Methodology

• USA Today article appears to compare actual delivered US speeds with advertised speeds in other countries. [Hoewing Verizon]
• Intl Comparisons do not reflect upstream speeds. [Hoewing Verizon]
• "The principal limitation of the OECD rankings are that they measure penetration on a per capita basis rather than a per household basis. When measured on a household basis, the US rank improves somewhat, to 12th " (from 15th in 2007) [ITIF 5]
• OECD fails to include WiFi Hot Spots and at work access

Reports

• Pew
  • Home Broadband 2008, Pew Internet 7/3/2008
    • Connecting More Americans to Broadband: Pew's Late, Verizon 7/3/2008
  • Home Broadband Adoption 2007, Pew 7/5/2007
  • Home Broadband Adoption 2006, Pew 6/2/2006
  • Rural Broadband Internet Use, Pew Internet (February 2006)
    • Broadband Gap Narrowing Between Rural, Urban America: Survey, Information Week 2/28/2006
  • Broadband Adoption in the United States: Growing but Slowing, Pew 9/30/2005
  • Broadband Adoption at Home: A Pew Internet Project Data Memo May 18, 2003
  • As of the end of March 2003, 31% of home Internet users had a high-speed connection at home. This is up from 2in October 2002 and 21% March 2002. Today, approximately 30 million people - or 16% of all Americans - log on at home with a broadband connection. That is double the number who had a high-speed connection at home at the end of 2001 and, as noted, a 50% increase in the past year.
• Broadband Adoption at Home: A Pew Internet Project Data Memo, Pew 5/19/03
• Pew Internet, The Broadband Difference, at 2 (June 23, 2002)
• Akamai
  • Report: State of Broadband According to Akamai, Gigaom 5/30/2008
  • New report confirms U.S. is slipping further behind, Speed Matters 5/28/2008
• Richard Bennett, Luke A. Stewart, and Robert D. Atkinson, Information Technology & Innovation Foundation (ITIF), The Whole Picture: Where America’s Broadband Networks Really Stand , February 2013.
• Broadband Adoption in 2012, Technet
• The Benefits of Broadband, June 2011 Bandwidth Report, Website Optimization
• U.S. Broadband Speeds Up by 9.2 Percent, Internet News 4/28/2011
• McKinsey & Company, Internet Matters: The Net's Sweeping Impact on Growth, Jobs and Propserity, May 2011
• Global Internet Traffic to Quadruple by 2015, Reaching 966 Exabytes Per Year, Circleid 6/2/2011
• US Broadband Speed Jumps to 16th Worldwide, bandwidth reports 11/12/2010
• Home Broadband 2010, Pew 9/13/2010
• Use of the internet in higher-income households, Pew 12/10/2010
• North American Broadband Trends, Circleid 4/4/2011
• State of the Internet 2009: Pew Internet Project Findings and Implications for Libraries, Pew 9/22/2009
• U.S. Hispanic Users Lag Behind non-Hispanics in Internet Adoption, Clickz 8/2/2010
• Home Broadband 2010, Pew 8/16/2010
• US 27th In Broadband Speeds? Slower Than Kyrgyzstan, Techdirt 8/2/2010
• US Stays at 15th Place in Broadband Penetration Worldwide, Website Optimization 7/21/2010
• US Drops to 22nd in Broadband Speed Worldwide, bandwidth reports 4/28/2010
• US Broadband Penetration Drops to 25th Worldwide, bandwidth reports 2/4/2010
• Broadband penetration still lags in U.S., CW 12/15/2009
• US Broadband Speed 18th Worldwide, bandwidth reports 9/15/2009
• U.S. Broadband Growth Continues to Slow, Gigaom 9/8/2009
• U.S. lags other nations in Internet speed, CNET 8/27/2009
• Another Poor Showing for U.S. Broadband Rank, Internet News 8/27/2009
• U.S.A.: Dead Last in Internet Speeds, and Not Trying Very Hard to Catch Up, Peer Flow 8/27/2009
• Broadband Growth Falls Sharply in the U.S., Gigaom 8/18/2009
• OECD Communications Outlook 2009, OECD 8/11/2009
• The Substantial Consumer Benefit of Broadband Connectivity for US Households, Compass Lexecon July 2009
• CWA, Speed Matters; Benefits of Broadband (2009)
• United States still lags behind in international broadband penetration, Speed Matters 11/5/2008
• UK to pass Canada in Broadband Penetration in 2008, Bandwidth Report 10/28/2008
• US Drops to 19th in Broadband Penetration Worldwide, Broadband Reports 9/30/2008
• It's Official: China Now Has More Broadband Lines Than the United States., Sascha 9/30/2008
• Report shows U.S. high speed Internet deployment still lags behind, Speed Matters 9/16/2008
• Verizon: What Broadband Problem? - You're not looking at the data the way Verizon would like you to...., dslreports 9/11/2008
• U.S. 3G Adoption Rivals Europe, Tech Industry and Regulation 9/10/2008
• U.S. Still Fifteenth In Broadband Penetration - Though per-capita subscriber growth remains strong, dslreports 5/25/2009
• Why US Broadband Service Continues to Stagnate -- Some Simple Numbers to Drive the Point Home., Sascha 5/7/2009
• UK Broadband Penetration Drops to 14th Worldwide, bandwidth reports 5/1/2009
• U.S. falls to 17th in U.N. broadband rankings, Speed Matters 4/7/2009
• A New Way to Look at U.S. Broadband - As #1, Nextgenweb 2/26/2009
• New Broadband Report Hypes Quality, not Quantity of Connections, Tech Lib Front 2/24/2009
• Broadband woes aside, US tops the world in "connectivity", Ars Technica 2/24/2009
• We're #1 In Broadband (Sort Of) - Assuming you look at completely irrelevant data like SMS use...., dslreports 2/24/2009
• Global Broadband Users Hit 400 Million, 680 Million by 2013, Says Report, CircleID 11/20/2008
• Leichtman: 2008 Slowest Broadband Year Ever - Subscriber additions down as new trends emerge..., dslreports 3/10/2009
• US Broadband Penetration Grows to 63%, Website Optimization 6/30/2009
• Karl Bode, Verizon: What Broadband Problem:, DSLREPORTS (Sept. 11, 2008)
• Link Hoewing, Mark Twain's Lessons about Statistics, Verizon PolicyBlog Sept 10, 2008
• US Broadband Forecast, 2008 to 2013: Driving Growth Through Multi-play Marketing, Jupiter 5/22/2008
• Robert D Atkinson, Daniel K Correa, Julie A Hedlund, Explaining International Broadband Leadership, ITIF (May 2008)
• comScore "Digital World: State Of The Internet" Report Highlights Growth in Emerging Internet Markets, comScore 3/20/2008
• 53% Of US Homes Broadband Connected - 72% of Internet users broadband connected, Broadband Reports 6/8/2007
• Broadband Spreads Out, Speeds Up, Emarketer 6/5/2007
• Denmark climbs to the top in the rankings of the World Economic Forum's Global Information Technology Report 2006-2007, World Economic Forum 3/30/2007
• George Ford, Thomas M Koutsky and Lawrence J Spiwak, The Broadband Performance Index: A Policy-Relevant Method of Comparing Broadband Adoption Among Countries (2007)
• Oh No, US Falls Behind Denmark In Terms Of Innovation, Techdirt 3/30/2007
• Jan 2007 Broadband Report, WebSiteOptimization 1/23/2007
• Three-Quarters of U.S. Web Users Are In the Fast Lane, Clickz 12/15/2006
• Bandwidth Getting Cheaper on a Per Mbps Basis, IP Democracy 9/26/2006
• Cable Still Ahead of DSL - Despite recent Pew claims, Broadband Reports 6/2/2006
• DSL Outpaces Cable in First Quarter - DSL has beaten cable six consecutive quarters, Broadband Reports 5/16/2006
• Fourfold Increase Projected In U.S. VoIP Subscribers In Four Years, Techweb 6/14/2006
• If FCC Broadband Data is Wrong... - What would that say about America's broadband policy?, Broadband Reports 5/9/2006
• Rural Broadband Remains Spotty, Clickz 5/9/2006
• Broadband Grows At Breakneck Speed, Led By DSL: Report, Networking Pipeline 3/7/2006
• Broadband Adoption Reaches Plateau, Clickz 10/5/2005
• Empty Pipes (42% Broadband Adoption), emarketer 10/5/2005
• Broadband Users Number 120-plus Million, Internet Week 9/30/2005
• Home broadband sign-ups 'soar', BBC 11/29/2005
• Broadband Reaches Over 40 Million In U.S., Networking Pipeline 11/15/2005
• U.S. Tops Broadband Usage, For Now, Clickz 11/15/2005
• Over Half Of Online Adults Use Broadband At Home, Information Week 5/13/2005
• We're Number Two!, Internet Week 4/22/2005
• Broadband Population Growth Continues, Clickz 6/3/2005
• ISPs gain ground vs. cable Net providers, USA Today 4/1/2005
• Report: Fast-Internet Use Doubles in U.S., eweek 11/23/2004
• NTCA RELEASES 2003 INTERNET/BROADBAND AVAILABILITY STUDY May 2003
• Cable loses broadband ground to DSL, CNET 2/20/2004
• US broadband net continues growth, BBC 1/5/2004
• Broadband use continues strong growth, CNET 6/19/03
• FCC: High-speed Net growth slowing, CNET 6/12/03
• Study: Broadband To Hit Quicksand, Newsfactor 5/19/03
• More Than Half of U.S., Canada Online, NUA 5/2/03
• Residential Broadband Forecasts, Technology Futures (2002) U.S. Broadband Households-TFI 2002 Base Forecast & U.S. Adoption of Broadband Access-
  Percent of Online Households & Examples of Consumer Adoptions (Gompertz Model) (Radio v TV v Color TV v Pay Cable v VCR v CD players ; & US Broadband Households by Data Rates & Nominal Data Rates as a Percentage of Broadband Households
• Mike Volpi, Cisco, Broadband, Slide 4 (9/2002) - 12.5% US HH have BB; 21.5% of online HH.  49% access multimedia content.  42% US HH want bundle from one service provider. (cite IDC, Cahners In-Stat, Kinetic Strategies)

• Technology Administration, Department of Commerce, Understanding Broadband Demand, A Review of Critical Issues , page 6 (Sept 23, 2002)
• Nationwide, new BB subs increased by 400% btw June 2000 and June 2002 to 24 m users (not HH) according to the Pew Internet and American Life Project.
• Consistent with these findings, NCTA reported 67% cable BB user growth btw august 2001 and August 2002.  For Q201 to Q202 Verizon reported 79% DSL user growth, SBC 67%, Qwest 37% (with 81% DSL revenue growth), BS 111% and Earthlink 74.6%.
• Nielson NetRatings reported strong BB demand and subs growth in some of the biggest US cities btw April 2001 and May 2002 - up 71% in NYC, 88% in Lost Angeles, 48% in Boston, 153% in WDC and 21% in SF.

 

• U.S. Broadband Growth Slows, Reuters 8/18/2004
• More high-speed Net subscribers in US, NUA 4/4/03
• Survey Finds Broadband’s on the Mind of Residential Builders and Developers, InStat 3/24/03
• More broadband users in the US (33.6m Dec 2002), NAU 1/17/03
• Broadband Broadens its Pitch Wash Post  Feb 2 2003 (available to 70% americans with a 13% take rate)
• As Broadband Gains, The Internet's Snails Fall Back NYT Feb 2003
• U.S. Broadband Growth Steady (28% US HH have Broadband, DSL or cable is available to 88% of HH, cable has 54% market share, DSL has 34% market share June 2002 source Gartner), ISP Planet 11/20/02
• e-Data Telecom: Broadband Internet Tops 15.6 Million in the U.S. - Subscriptions Jump 11% in 90 Days, ITAA 11/20/02
• Broadband adoption rise in North America, NUA 12/4/02
• Over 15 million broadband subscribers in US NUA 11/8/02
• Broadband in 25 % of online households in US NUA 10/28/02
• Broadband Hooks Up 13.1 Million Users ISP Planet 10/18/02
• US online households embrace broadband (28% US Online HH have Broadband - BB Market: ISDN 8%, 54% cable, DSL 34% market) - June 02 NUA 11/15/02
• U.S. Cable vs. DSL, Second Q 2002, Cyberatlas 8/23/02
• Broadband users use the Net differently, NUA 6/24/02
• Broadband Growth is Booming - NIELSEN//NETRATINGS Finds 65% of the Top 20 Local Markets Grow at Least 48 Percent in Past Year, ITAA 6/26/02
• Use of Internet Is More Active at High Speed, NYT 6/24/02
• Study: Broadband Adoption on the Rise, Newsfactor 6/24/02
• Broadband Fees Up; Adoption Rates Down, Cyberatlas 1/17/02
• Cable Widens Lead In High-Speed Race, INews 11/1/01
• 35 Million Broadband Users By 2006, Cyberatlas 10/18/01
• Report to the Governor in Council: Status of Competition in Canadian Telecommunications Markets Deployment/Accessibility of Advanced Telecommunications Infrastructure and Services September 2001

Global Broadband

• Broadband Europe 2007, Europa 8/9/2007
• World Broadband Statistics: Q4 2005, Point Topic Ltd (March 2006)
• World broadband maps Q4 2005 April 2006 Point Topic
• China to Top U.S. in Broadband Subscribers, Americas Network 5/17/2005
• Global Broadband Tops 123M, Clickz 9/21/2004
• Technology Administration, Department of Commerce, Understanding Broadband Demand, A Review of Critical Issues , page 5 (Sept 23, 2002)
• World Broadband Subscribers RHK Inc. www.rhk.com 4Q 2003
  • Cable: 32,857,000 - DSL: 65,714,000 - Other: 1,377,000

Broadband Adoption By Service by Percentage

NB: Some surveys contrast all types of Internet access (including dial up), some only contrast DSL to Cable.

• The 2007 Digital Economy Fact Book, Progress and Freedom Foundation p. 17 (Dec. 2007) ( PDF )
• Vermont Telecommunications Plan, Sept 2004 p. 4-29 (Vermont Residents)
• Cable represented 75.3% of advanced service lines, ADSL represented 14.9%, and other technologies represented 9.8% in December 2003. The relative position of cable and ADSL was 56% and 16.8% in June 2001. Cable represented 58% of high speed lines, with ADSL representing 34% as of year-end 2003. Pew Internet Project reported in April 2004 that 42% of broadband users at home connected via DSL, compared to 28% a year previously. [p.30] [p.29] FCC Fourth Sec. 706 Report (Sept. 2004)

Plan to Adopt Soon

Vermont Residents Likely to Upgrade to faster Internet connection in the next year: Yes 23% : No 67% Dont Know 10%. Vermont Residents without home Internet access likely to acquire it in the next year: Yes 23%: No 69% : Dont Know 7% : Refused 1%.Vermont Telecommunications Plan, Sept 2004 p. 4-27

Demographics

• Pew Internet Project, Digital Divisions (Oct. 2005)
• Pew Internet Project, Internet: The Mainstreaming of Online Life, p. 67

Broadband by Location

Broadband at Home

• Residential Broadband Penetration by Region Jan 2005. Leichtman Research Group, p. 4 (Sept 2005) http://www.leichtmanresearch.com/research/notes09_2005.pdf

Refusniks

• Explaining Dial-Up Laggards - Poor, retired, can't read or just don't care..., DSLreports 9/4/2007
• Offline Americans see Internet of Little Value, Park Assoc 3/27/2007
• US Internet Adoption to Slow, Clickz (February 2006)
• More refuseniks than dial up users. 72 m v 62 m. Pew 2004.
• A Nation Online: Entering the Broadband Age, Department of Commerce (Sept. 2004)
• Reasons for not having Internet connections at home. Vermont Telecommunications Plan, Sept 2004 p. 4-30 Reasons for not subscribing to a faster Internet access service. p. 4-31.
• Year Three of the UCLA Internet Report, UCLA Page 28 1/31/03
   

Percent of Non Users	2000	2001	2002
No Computer	37.7	25.5	28.5
No Interest	33.3	21.4	23
Dont Know How	18.9	6.9	15.4
Too Expensive	9.1	2.6	9.6
Fear of Tech	4.2	5.6	2.6
Privacy Security Concerns	2.9	1.6	0.8
Not Appropriate for Kids	1.9	0.8	1.4
Computer Not Good Enuf	1.4	1.2	3.4
Consumes too much time	0	1.6	3.6

Availability

• FCC Fourth Sec. 706 Report (Sept. 2004)
  • As of December 2003, only 6.8% of zip codes reported no high-speed lines, compared to 22.2% of zip codes with no reported lines in June 2001. There also has been a steady growth in the percent of zip codes reporting four or more providers of high-speed lines, from 27.5% in June 2001 to 46.3% in December 2003. With respect to the lowest density zip codes (fewer than six persons per square mile), there were reported lines in 73% of zip codes in December 2003, compared to 37% in June of 2001. [p.30]
  • [p.30]
• "In 2001 MSDW estimated that 90% of Americans will be able to sign up for either DSL or cable by the end of 2002, although other data has suggested that only 31% will have a competitive choice between these transmission platforms." Technology Administration, Department of Commerce, Understanding Broadband Depand, A Review of Critical Issues , page 5 (Sept 23, 2002)
• Availability of Broadband Internet Access:Empirical Evidence TPRC Paper 1999
• U.S. Broadband Growth Steady, ISP Planet 11/20/ 02 "cable modem and DSL together represented 88 percent of the household broadband access market in the U.S., up from 70 percent of broadband access in 2000"

Price Per Bit

Value of Bits: Cost Per Megabyte of Various Services

Service	Typical Monthly Bill	Revenue Per MB
Cable	$40	$0.00012
Broadband Internet	$50	$0.025
Phone	$70	$0.08
Dial Up Internet	$20	$0.33
Cell Phone	$50	$3.50
SMS		$3000

Source: Andrew Odlyzko, Pricing and Architecture of the Internet: Historical Perspectives from Telecommunications and Transportation, p. 4 (TPRC 2004)

Download Speeds

• Download time of a 2-begabyte file for various Internet Connections
• Transfer time, 3 megabyte file, hours/seconds
• 56 kbps - 7 min 15 sec
• 128 kbps - 3 min 7 secs
• 258 kbps - 1 min 33 secs
• 512 kbps - 47 secs
• 1.5 mbps - 16 secs
• 2 mbps - 12 secs
• 10 mbps - 2.4 secs
• 100 mbps - 0.24 secs
• File type and size
• Movie 1.5 hours DVD quality - 4000 megabytes
• Move 1.5 hour DivX - 650 megabytes
• 3 minute music wav file - 35 meg
• Digital photo 4 megapixels uncompressed - 11 meg
• ITU Internet for a Mobile Generation Report Adobe - 4 Meg
• 3 Minute Music File MP3 - 3 Meb
• Digital Photo 4 megapixels JPEG 10:1 - 1 meb
• Birth of Broadband, ITU Internet Report, (Sept 2003) Figure 1.2 page 2

Cable

• MSO Market Share as of 2Q04, Kinetic Strategies (10/25/04)

MSO	CMS Subs x1000
Comcast	6,000
TW Cable	3,548
Cox	2,246
Charter	1,711
Cablevision	1,179
Adelphia	1,164
Bright House	675
Mediacom	327
Insight	274
RCN	220
CableOne	152
Other	255
Total	17,752

 

• Comcast phone subs up 381,000, Telephony 10/26/2006
• Chart: Cable-DSL growth over past 12 months, CNET 11/12/2004
• FCC Fourth Sec. 706 Report (Sept. 2004)
  • Cable industry extended the offering of such broadband services to at least 90% of homes passed and increasing download speeds from 200 kbps to as much as 6 Mbps. [p. 14]
• Morgan Stanley 2004:  Cable Broadband Availability as a percentage of homes passed by cable:
• 1999: 34
• 2000: 58
• 2001: 71
• 2002: 82
• 2003: 88
• 2004: 90
• "over 75 million US Households can now get cable modem broadband access if they want it."  Technology Administration, Department of Commerce, Understanding Broadband Depand, A Review of Critical Issues , page 5 (Sept 23, 2002)
• Cable facilities pass approximately 94% of the nation's homes; over half of those homes are passed by upgraded cable capable of cable modem service.  Within five years, it is estimated that 84% of all homes will be passed by upgraded cable.  FCC Second Sec. 706 Report, CC Docket No. 98-146, ¶ 187 (August 21, 200
• NCTA Statistics and Resources
• Cable Modem Subscribers
• NCTA Broadband Deployment
• Homes Passed by Cable Modem Service
• Cable Telephony Subscribers
• Digital Cable Subscribers
• U.S. 3Q Cable Subs Double DSL ISP Planet 11/15/02
• More cable broadband subscribers in US, NUA 9/4/02
• Cable Modem Market Stats & Projections Cable Datacom News June 2001 (Broadband Internet penetration - 9.3 mil households or an 8.2 percent household penetration rate, 6.4 m cable or 70% market share, 2.9 m dsl)

Dial Up

• Narrowband on the Decline in the U.S., Internet News 11/18/2008
• US increases its lead in dial-up Internet service, Muni 4/27/2005
• “Broadband Passes Dial-up in U.S.” MSNBC.com, August 18, 2004. (" That [63 m Broadband subscribers] amounts to 51 percent of U.S. residential users, up from 49 percent in June and from 38 percent just a year earlier. Sixty-one million, or 49 percent of residential users, us narrowband hookups, down from 62 percent last July, Nielsen//NetRatings said. ")

DSL

• The State of Broadband 2006: DSL rules for now, Gigaom 4/5/2007
• Bells: DSL subs and speeds rising, Telephony 11/2/2006
• DSL Subscribers To Double By 2009: Report, Networking Pipeline 3/9/2006
• DSL subscribers on the rise, CNET 5/13/2005
• Global DSL Soars 40 Percent in First Three Quarters 2004, clickz 12/10/2004
• "BS reported that it had increased its broadband coverage to 72% of the HH it serves (July 22, 2002).  SBC reported BB availability to 26 m customer locations, roughly 64% of its wireline customer locations (SBC DSL Update, Aug 2002).  Verizon said it had deployed DSL in COs serving 79% of the company's access lines as of the end of 2001 (Verizon Investor Quarterly Jan 31, 2002).  Qwest has stated an intention to increase from 45% BB availability at 2001 year-end to 70% by the end of 2002 (Dec 31, 2001)."  Technology Administration, Department of Commerce, Understanding Broadband Depand, A Review of Critical Issues , page 5 (Sept 23, 2002)
• SBC DSL Lines in Service
• Telechoise 1Q02 DSL US:  4,884,828 xDSL.com
• North American DSL Market Reaches 4.7 Million, CLEC Planet 11/28/01
• TeleChoice Expects U.S. DSL Market to Reach 17.4 Million by End of 2004 xDSL.com

Fiber

• U.S. Eighth in FTTH Deployment - 2.3% of homes now have FTTH., dslreports 3/5/2008
• Verizon: 522,000 Fios Customers - 118,000 of whom have Fios TV service, Broadband Reports 10/30/2006
• FCC Fourth Sec. 706 Report (Sept. 2004)
  • As of May 2004, carriers have deployed FTTH technology to 128 communities in 32 states. [p.17]
• Only 2-3% of fiber in North America is lit.  Source:  Ed Keible, President Endwave, Internet World Fall 2001.

Satellite

• Satellite Service Battles Lag, Wired 9/14/2004
• FCC Fourth Sec. 706 Report (Sept. 2004)
  • Satellite and wireless accounted for approximately 1.3% of high-speed lines (Dec. 2003). None of the satellite-based Internet access services satisfy the definition of advanced services. [p.23]
  • Two major providers: Starband [20k subs] and DirectWay. [p.23]
  • Boeing recently launched Connexion, a realtime, high-speed in-flight Internet access service for passengers using satellite technology. [p.23]
  • On July 17, 2004 , WildBlue Communications announced the launch of its first Ka-band satellite payload aboard Telesat’s Anik F2 satellite. [p.23]

Business

• "The most current study of BB availability to US businesses that we could find was from April 2001.  56% of small business, 85% of medium size businesses, and 87% of large businesses had access to broadband services if they wanted them." Technology Administration, Department of Commerce, Understanding Broadband Depand, A Review of Critical Issues , page 6 (Sept 23, 2002)

Wifi

Wifi Hotspots x1000

Note: Estimates of the number of hotspots vary widely. Note also that the term "hotspot" may not be consistently defined.

• Links
  • See Gartner
  • WifiFinder (checked Jan 2005 listing 6000 hotspots in North America)
  • Intel: Most Unwired Cities Survey
• "Today, there are more than 3,701 hotspots in the United States in locations such as cafes, airports, public parks and hotels." Intel, Most Unwired Cities Survey (2003) (citing IDC, 2003)
• WiFi hotspots top 45,000, Register Oct 22, 2003 (citing Pyramid Research "Around half of the world's hotspots are in Asia (24,300) while Europe (10,160) and the US (10,970) boast roughly the same number.")
• FCC Fourth Sec. 706 Report (Sept. 2004)
  • “Wi-Fi hardware market achieving staggering growth in 2003,…expecting 22.7 million NIC [network interface card] and AP units rolled out in 2003, a 214% increase from 2002’s 7.2 million units shipments.” [p. 19]
  • According to industry, approximately 2,000 to 3,000 WISPs serving nation’s rural areas [p.31]
• "Top 10" Wireless Internet Service Providers, Broadband Wireless Exchange's 2004 (January 2004)
• Number of Wireless LAN Hot Spots in US:  2000: 2,000 - 2001: 5,000 - 2002: 11,000.  Vendors Pursue Gold at End of Rainbow, Network World at 14 July 22, 2002 (citing Cahners In-Stat/MDR)
• 400,000 unl subs summer 2002 per Alvarion

Wireless

• John Horrigan, Mobile Access to Data and Information, Pew Internet (March 2008)
• US Wireless Forecast, 2008 to 2013: Reaching the Tipping Point for Mobile Data Services, Jupiter 7/31/2008
• Wireless Internet Use, Pew Internet 7/30/2009
• Mobile Internet Users to Reach 134 Million by 2013, CircleID 6/11/2009
• U.S. 3G Adoption Rivals Europe, Tech Industry and Regulation 9/10/2008
• U.S. Wireless Internet Access Tops the Charts, CTIA 7/14/2008
• US Wireless Forecast, 2008 to 2013: Reaching the Tipping Point for Mobile Data Services, Jupiter 7/31/2008
• Seeding The Cloud: What Mobile Access Means for Usage Patterns and Online Content, Pew 3/7/2008
• Mobile Access to Data and Information, Pew 3/7/2008
• Mobile broadband use jumps 154 percent, CNET 3/5/2008

Cost Model

Cable and DSL Internet Access Cost Structure - an example
$ Per customer per month for model network build

2002E	xDSL	Cable
Total Costs	$47	$40
Transport/network	2	4
ISP/Hosting	5	5
Customer Acquisition	15.5	14.0
CPE	4.5	3
Home Installation	5	6
Customer Service/Billing	11	7
Maintenance	4	1

Costs are for ILEC.  Excludes CLEC UNE costs.  Source: McKinsey and JFMS analysis 2001.

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