High-speed connections surge

CNET News.com ^ | December 17, 2002, 9:43 AM PT | Declan McCullagh

[glorgau]

Americans' love of high-speed Internet connections is reflected in a 70 percent jump in subscriber numbers during the past year, according to government figures released Tuesday.

The Federal Communications Commission's biannual report said there were approximately 16.2 million broadband customers as of June 2002, up from 9.6 million a year earlier and 12.8 million six months before. Because the FCC generally counts a business or household as one customer, the actual number of Americans with broadband access at home or at work is far higher.

The remarkable growth rate is due almost entirely to the increasing popularity of cable modems and DSL (digital subscriber line) connections, which together account for about 90 percent of broadband links and the vast majority of the increase. The remainder of the high-speed market is shared by ISDN, fiber, satellite, or fixed wireless connections, which have enjoyed a rate of growth in the single digits.

Not all of those connections are bidirectional, meaning that the speed would be least 200KB per second for uploads and downloads. Approximately 10.4 million of 16.2 million customers fall into that category, according to the data gathered by the FCC based on its surveys of telecom companies.

California, the most populous state, leads in high-speed lines, with 2.6 million subscribers. Next is New York with 1.5 million customers, Florida with 1.1 million, and Texas with 1 million.

Cable modems are still the most popular, with 9.1 million subscribers and a 29 percent rate of increase from Dec. 2001 to June 2002. DSL is next, with 5.1 million subscribers and a 29 percent rate of increase during the same time.

The report suggests that broadband services are available to almost everyone who wants them, which could make it more difficult for Congress to pass a broadband-spending law when politicians return next month. "Our analysis indicates that 98 percent of the country's population lives in the 84 percent of zip codes where a provider reports having at least one high-speed service subscriber," the report says.

The FCC admits its report may be under-inclusive because it does not include connections that are faster than dial-up modems with a throughput under 200KB per second, and because there is no legal requirement that companies respond to its surveys.

[glorgau]

Count me in!

[Billy_bob_bob]

This is good news. More bandwidth = less dependance on mass media for information = freedom for new ideas, new art and new music to get out to people while bypassing the filters of the mass media. I'm especially encouraged to see that this is happening during a down economy.

[strela]

The report suggests that broadband services are available to almost everyone who wants them, which could make it more difficult for Congress to pass a broadband-spending law when politicians return next month.

I hate being an "almost." But I'm still not ready to scream "MAKE A NEW LAW!" at the top of my lungs just because I live in BFE and there's no broadband here. Not the conservative thing to do, dontchaknow.

[lormand]

You could probably get broadband satellite, but your upload would use dialup. This wouldn't be the best solution, but it must be twice as good as pure dialup.

[BlackbirdSST]

I've spent some dismal day's this past month working with knuckleheads to get my new SAT link up and functioning. It has now surpassed the record uptime of one solid week, and purring right along. The technology surpasses the technical ability of those providing the service, plain and simple. Perhaps this will too come to pass, but it makes it a pain to take the leap. Stupid people tend to ruin good things. Blackbird.

[BlackbirdSST]

You could probably get broadband satellite, but your upload would use dialup. This wouldn't be the best solution, but it must be twice as good as pure dialup. There are a number of two way SAT system's on the market right now! Blackbird.

[lormand]

"There are a number of two way SAT system's on the market right now! Blackbird."

Can you point strela to one of those systems?

I have cable access, and am as "happy as a little girl".

[Astronaut]

I'm fortunate that even though I live in BFE (an island off Washington State) we have DSL here. I've had DSL since 1999, and once you gone to broadband, dialup internet is nothing but a sad joke.

[LibKill]

DSL! DSL! DSL!

Please don't hate me because my FR pages open faster than yours! :)

[fogarty]

What a joke. I don't know about other areas, but where I live DSL runs about $60 a month. Cable is less, but it ends up being the same because the local monopoly forces us to bundle it with the basic cable TV service.

Frankly, I doubt these FCC numbers. They appear inflated.

[skeeter]

Great. Now why aren't subscriber prices coming down in keeping with economies of scale?

[muleskinner]

I just subscribed to AT&T Broadband. And, I too, am happy as a little girl.

So, whats the diff. between DSL and the broadband cable connection?

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

Great. Now why aren't subscriber prices coming down in keeping with economies of scale?

Because the cable companies have been spending billions to upgrade the infrastructure. And someboby has got to pay for that.

As soon as all Freepers have high speed internet access, I'm going to start posting all of my replies in audio files hosted on my ISPs server.

I'd be doing it now except there are too many folks here that would be taxed bandwidth-wise. Might be neat to try though.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

So, whats the diff. between DSL and the broadband cable connection?

Delivery method mainly. DSL uses a phone line from the local telco. Cable uses...well, you've got attbi, so you know.

All other things being equal, the speeds are comparable.

[LibKill]

So, whats the diff. between DSL and the broadband cable connection?

I asked my computer guru, who has cable.

He gave me far more information than I could really analyze but it seemed to come to "not much difference."

Broadband rocks!

[taxcontrol]

There are three major areas of difference between DSL and cable.

DSL is a dedicated service, meaning that your bandwidth is not shared by others. With cable, your access is shared with other subscribers - your available bandwidth will vary with the time of day and the number of users on line at the same time.

DSL is often available as a Symmetric service - same speed up - same speed down. Cable is asymmetric - normally about 128 up and 2 meg down. Since the home consumer normally downloads more than they upload, cable has an advantage here. However, a business or a home user who has a web site may need a larger upload and that is when DSL might make more sence.

Lastly, customer service. This is the normal price, support, etc etc.

I would make the following generalization. If only one is available, go with that 'cause broadband is way better than dial up. However, if both are offered, normal home users will be happier with cable 'cause it is normally 10% to 20% lower in cost and provides faster download. However, there are other areas which might make DSL more attractive. Particularly to business customers.

In short - yeah they are about the same.

[bribriagain]

I'm getting DSL in two weeks. Can't wait. What kind of through put do you get?

[LibKill]

I'm getting DSL in two weeks. Can't wait. What kind of through put do you get?

Through put, Eh! I am not a techno-dude, just a computer user.

Here goes. It depends on what is on the other end (no joke).

In practical terms I can download a 1 megabyte file in way less than a minute, IF the server on the other end is on a fast connection.

For surfing the net it is great.

Try timing some of your favorite graphics intensive pages now while you are still on dial-up. Time the same pages on DSL.

You will never go back to dial-up.

[PAR35]

One other factor to consider in the DSL/Cable debate. (Actually two, interrelated) Who do you hate more - your phone company or your cable company (Does cable raise the rates every few months, who has the worst customer service, etc). Who is most reliable - same cable company, in one neighborhood the cable goes out every time there is a hard rain; nearby neighborhood the cable is solid as a rock. In one neighborhood, DSL is clearly superior, in the other, it's a wash.

[amigatec]

DSL! DSL! DSL!

Well i may not hate you but I DON"T HAVE Broadband, can't get it. I am sharing a 56k line with 3 computers.

:-(