Broadband penetration in the U.S. is continuing to grow, and now stands at 90 percent of U.S. households that have a computer at home, according to Broadband Access & Services in the Home 2012, a study by Leichtman Research Group (LRG). Five years ago, 65 percent of households with a computer subscribed to broadband service, LRG notes. Its research shows that broadband subscriptions go up with household incomes.
|
Annual Household Income |
Use a Computer at Home |
Internet at Home |
Broadband at Home |
| Under $ 30,000 |
59% |
52% |
47% |
| $ 30,000-$ 50,000 |
84% |
78% |
68% |
| Over $ 50,000 |
97% |
97% |
91% |
“While higher-income households remain most likely to subscribe to a broadband service, computers in the home also increases with household income,” said Bruce Leichtman, president and principal analyst for Leichtman Research Group, Inc. “Disparities in computer ownership are the true roots of the broadband divides in the US.”
Here are some other findings from that study (via the LRG press release.)
- While 76 percent with broadband don’t know the speed of their Internet connection, 63 percent of broadband subscribers rate the speed of their Internet connection as falling between an eight and 10 (higher is better), and 6 percent rate it poorly at between one and three.
- Two percent of all online households say that broadband is not available in their area – compared to 6 percent in 2008
- Overall, 1.3 percent of all households are interested in getting broadband, but say that it is not available in their area.
- Overall, 0.6 percent of all households are interested in getting broadband, but cite cost as a reason for not currently subscribing to a broadband service.
The high broadband penetration in homes with computers explains why we are seeing slower growth in demand for new broadband connections. At the end of second quarter of 2012, there were a total of 80.33 million broadband subscribes in the U.S. according to LRG.
