Analyst: Global economy hits US broadband uptake hardest

It's widely known that the US is playing catch-up with the rest of the world, especially Western Europe and Southeast Asia, in the field of broadband adoption. But a report released by iSuppli yesterday suggests that the rate of US broadband uptake acceleration dropped in 2008 for the first time.

While 6.5 million new broadband subscribers were added in the US during 2007, according to iSuppli principal analyst Steve Rago, only 3.5 million were added in 2008. The entry of telcos, such as Verizon (FiOS) and AT&T (U-verse) to the mix of broadband and TV service providers for many US customers, helped keep that number from falling even further, the firm estimates, but only because customers were investing in the TV service first, and broadband as a piggy-back.