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Nielsen/Net Ratings Study: Broadband
Grows 49% To Nearly 40 Million Users. Streaming Part of Reason
For Growth
Women, Seniors, Students and Affluent
Americans Comprise Some of The Fastest Growing Demographic
Groups Adopting Broadband
There are 39 million, or 13 percent of Americans,
connecting via broadband in the U.S., the highest number to
date. (see Table below).
Despite higher growth rates for broadband,
there are nearly twice as many narrowband users as broadband
users in the U.S. In comparison, last year there were three
times as many narrowband users as broadband users. Narrowband
users continue to outweigh broadband users with 69.6 million
users.
Of narrowband users, the 28.8/33.6Kbps group
experienced the biggest decline of 16 percent to 10.1 million
users, while the 56Kbps group had the biggest drop in sheer
size of 7.4 million users or a 12 percent decrease.
"We're seeing the mainstreaming of
broadband as more and more modem users migrate to high-speed,
especially as broadband costs continue to drop, "said
Marc Ryan, director of analysis, Nielsen//NetRatings. "Clearly
people are discovering the perks of high-speed access, from
streaming video and audio to rich media."
Internet Connection Speed Growth Rates (U.S.,
At-Home)
| Speed |
May 02 (000) |
May 03 (000) |
% Change |
| Broadband Total |
26,113 |
38,957 |
49.2% |
| Narrowband Total |
79,444 |
69,647 |
-12.3% |
| Modem 14.4K |
3,966 |
3,454 |
-12.9% |
| Modem 28.8/33.6K
|
12,014 |
10,118 |
-15.8% |
| Modem 56K |
63,465 |
56,075 |
-11.6% |
Source: Nielsen//NetRatings,
May 2003
The following data highlights demographic
changes occurring during the past year in the at-home audience.
- Women outpace men in broadband adoption
slightly at 51 percent versus 48 percent. There are still
more men (20.1 million) who access the Internet via broadband
than women (18.9 million), and there continues to be more
females (37.8 million) who access the Internet via narrowband
than males (31.8 million).
- Seniors ages 65 to 99 continue to be the
fastest growing age group using broadband, rising 64 percent
to 1.7 million users. They are, however, still increasing
their narrowband usage by three percent year-over-year.
- Students are the largest set of broadband
users in the occupation category with 7.8 million users,
growing 51 percent year-over-year. More than 12.3 million
students connect via narrowband.
- Those earning between $75-100k belong to
the fastest growing income group adopting high-speed access,
increasing 55 percent to 8.1 million users.
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