According to an Internet Innovation Alliance (IIA) study The Substantial Consumer Benefits of Broadband Connectivity for U.S. Households, approximately 66.6 million households used broadband in 2008. Dial-up users have decreased to 10.5 million households in 2008. Households with no internet access decreased to 39.7 million.
One of the conclusions of the study is that broadband has become a necessity. As evidence the authors point to data that shows that when people lose their jobs today they may cut other things but not their broadband, which they are using to search for employment.
2008 ITIF rankings (composite of penetration, speed and price) indicate that the US is 15th in the world. According to the ITIF broadband penetration (subscribers per household) in the US is .57 compared to .93 for South Korea which is ranked number one. Canada is ranked 11th with a penetration of .65.
Internationally, last year’s OECD report on broadband usage pointed out that
- Fiber-based broadband (fibre to the doorstep) is now 8 percent of the total OECD installed base. Japan has 40 percent of its connections on fiber, Korea has 34 percent.
- The average speed of broadband connections increased from 2 Mbit/s in 2004 to almost 9 Mbit/s in 2007 with prices coming down 16 percent for cable and 19 percent for DSL in that time frame.
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