|
Research
agency In-Stat/MDR has forecast that the number of broadband
subscribers worldwide will surpass 46 million by the end of
2002.
The number of broadband subscribers is expected to grow rapidly
over the next three years to surpass 120 million by 2005,
according to the agency. The news comes on the heels of figures
released by the Federal Communications Commission, The number
of broadband connections in the US increased by 33 per cent
during the second half of 2001, according to the Federal Communications
Commission.
In late 2001, DSL became the most widely used broadband access
technology when the number of worldwide DSL subscribers exceeded
17 million. However, in the US, cable modem subscribers continue
to outnumber DSL subscribers by a wide margin. According to
In-Stat/MDR, other broadband access technologies such as satellite
broadband, Fiber-to-the Home, and fixed wireless service account
for only five percent of current worldwide broadband subscribers.
The number of homes and businesses using high-speed lines
to connect to the Internet increased from 9.6 million to 12.8
million lines in the US at the end of the year.
This compares with a 36 percent rise in the first half of
2001 when the number of high-speed lines increased from nearly
7.1 million to 9.6 million. Of the 12.8 million high-speed
lines in service at the end of 2001, 11 million served residential
and small business subscribers, a 41 percent increase on the
first half of 2001 when 7.8 million residential and small
business subscribers could connect to the Net using high-speed
lines.
Around 7.4 million of the total number of high-speed lines
in service at the end of last year were advanced service lines
that provide services at speeds exceeding 200 kilobits per
second (kbps) in both directions. This is an increase of 25
percent on the first six months of the year. About 5.8 million
residential and small business subscribers had advanced service
lines, according to the report.
At the end of 2001, the presence of high-speed service subscribers
were reported in all fifty states, and in 79 percent of the
nation’s zip codes.
ADSL lines in service increased by 47 per cent during the
second half of the year, from 5.2 million to 7.1 million lines,
while cable modem service increased by 45 percent, from nearly
3.6 million to 5.2 million lines.
Click here for Archives
|
