Two-Thirds of U.S. on Broadband

Nearly two-thirds of regular Internet users in the United States now use broadband according to a recent survey by research firm Neilsen/NetRatings. That number shot up 28 percent in the past year alone, with 95.5 million Americans now using some form of high speed Internet.

The firm said that broadband use has grown vigorously since 2003, when only 33 percent of Internet users had high-speed connections. A likely cause of this rapid growth is a rapid decrease in the cost of broadband, especially DSL.

While cable companies have been slow to cut prices, DSL providers like Verizon and AT&T offer broadband services at about $15 per month, cheaper than even some dial-up connections. AOL recently raised its dial-up rates to equal broadband pricing.

With higher speeds has also come more time spent at the computer. Internet users spend approximately 30 hours online per month, compared with 25.5 hours in 2003.

"The correlated growth in average PC time per person is the result of broadband users' greater satisfaction with their online experience," Neilsen/NetRatings senior director of media Jon Gibs said. "The 'always on' nature of a broadband connection allows the Internet to become more entrenched in consumers' lives."

Research also showed that video sites like MSN Video, YouTube and Google Video have all benefited from higher broadband penetration. MSN Video, the leading service, garnered some 9.3 million visitors, a 44 percent increase over last year.

Sites like YouTube, with 9.0 million, and Google Video, with 6.2 million unique visitors rose from obscurity to be the second and third biggest video sites on the net. Gibbs said this is due to these companies successfully using viral advertising methods.

He added that traditional media should take notice of the success. "Television networks should be looking to embrace, rather than pull away from these sites, in order to generate buzz for their broadcast programming," he argued.

While broadband use has increased rapidly, it has not helped to increase penetration of the Internet overall, which has stabilized around 74 percent of the United States population.