Broadband use boosted by aggressive pricing strategies

Broadband use boosted by aggressive pricing strategies

According to the FCC, there were 47m broadband subscribers in the US by the end of 2005 (penetration of 16% vs population), while Nielsen study reports that 69% of US citizens have Internet access and Pew Internet found that 42% of adult Americans have broadband service. The surge in broadband internet use has started when telcos have begun reducing prices for the service. In household with $30k-$50k income, adoption of the service in 1Q06 grew 56%. But the link between broadband use and service fee is not limited to the US. We can witness such booming trend in every country where competition has drawn down prices. France is also a good example of low prices (€15 per month for a typical 8Mbit/s broadband service) and fast growing number of broadband users (currently 10.5m or a 16% penetration vs population). More generally Europe has experienced an average penetration rate of about 15%, but with contrasted situation according to the countries.