Broadband nation

Recently it has been reported that broadband penetration among US households has been slowing down. It is natural that once penetration passes a certain point that the rate of uptake will fall off.  That said, while the US might not rank at the top of broadband/capita that some NGOs and international groups like to trot out as significant indicators of something, it is nothing to be concerned or worried about.  Broadband is available just about to everyone willing to pay for it.  But as not everyone needs it or wants it, there is no reason to expect that it will soon approach penetration rates of television or telephony.  And it may never - as at some point access to broadband will be all that matters, not who owns the channel or pays the rent on the service.

Nielsen//NetRatings also reported that in August 2005, the percent of active U.S. Internet users connecting online via broadband from home reached an all-time high, at 61.3 percent, compared with 51.4 percent of active Internet users in August last year. (An active Internet user is anyone who went online or downloaded an Internet application during the month.) In August 2005, there were 86.1 million Internet users accessing the Web through high-speed connections, marking a 34 percent gain over 64.1 million during August 2004.

See this press release for more details:  TWO OUT OF EVERY FIVE AMERICANS HAVE BROADBAND ACCESS AT HOME, ACCORDING TO NIELSEN//NETRATINGS (as a .pdf file).