NetRatings survey shows broadband users now a majority in U.S.

IDG News Service - A majority of U.S. home Internet users now have broadband, according to a survey by NetRatings Inc.
While the total number of home Internet users has reached a plateau in the U.S., those who do use the Internet are adopting broadband at a rapid pace, according to Marc Ryan, senior director of analysis at the audience measurement company.
In July, an estimated 63 million home Internet users, or 51%, used broadband, compared with 61.3 million, or 49%, with dial-up. A year earlier, just 38% of all home Internet users used broadband, at about 42.8 million, and 62%, or about 70.5 million, were dial-up users, Ryan said.
Over the same period, the total number of Americans using the Internet at home grew less than 10%, from 113 million in July 2003 to 124 million in July 2004, according to NetRatings. The 2000 U.S. Census listed the total U.S. population at just over 281 million.
Special offers for broadband services, as well as the growing use of multimedia on the Web and the availability of music and video downloads, drove Internet users to the faster service, Ryan said.
"In order to truly experience the Internet at its best these days, a broadband connection is almost a must," Ryan said.
Broadband was most prevalent among people ages 18 to 20, 59% of whom use the faster technology, according to NetRatings. The second-highest broadband rate was among children ages 2 to 11, at 58%. A majority of home Internet users over age 50 still use narrowband, the company said.
NetRatings, based in New York and Milpitas, Calif., used a panel of 50,000 participants selected through calls to randomly generated phone numbers. Each participating household provided a profile of the users in the home, and a device connected to each Internet-linked PC in the homes logged where those users went on the Internet.