Broadband at Your Fingertips

Broadband Usage in America

Introduction

Broadband is the term typically used to describe a high speed Internet connection – according to the definition by the FCC (”Federal Communications Commission”), a connection which offers a unidirectional speed of 200Kbps (”Kilobits per second”), or more – whether that connected be wired, or wireless. In addition to data transfer speeds that compare very favourably indeed with the 56Kbps of a conventional dial-up connection, broadband is, of course, an “always on” service; no delays – for example, waiting for a dial-up modem to establish a connection, for example – are encountered, and no sharing of a telephone line, with voice applications, is required. As such, the availability, and cost of broadband Internet access is a major issue for telecommunications companies, cable and fixed wireless operators.

Broadband Market & Providers

Perhaps surprisingly, the United States ranks only around 20th in the world, in terms of the growth rate of broadband penetration. Progress has been hindered, in part, by the tendency of US telecommunications companies – AT&T, and Verizon, amongst them – to promote premium, high speed services in a market where the average consumer is still coming to terms with the cost of DSL (”Digital Subscriber Line”) services. Even the high speed services, themselves, are not widely available; the average speed of connection in the US is still only 2.3Mbps (”Megabits per second”), compared to 60+ Mbps in countries like Japan. Wireless broadband may, indeed, spark competition between providers, and increase the availability of broadband, overall, but, even here, American consumers are faced with the choice of EV-DO (”EVolution- Data Optimised”), LTE (”Long-Term Evolution”) and WiMax networks, amongst others.

In the current US market – or, at least, the market as it was at the end of the first half of 2008 – the new AT&T (AT&T having been acquired by SBC Communications, Inc. in 2005) leads the way with 15.2% of the market share in business and consumer DSL, not to mention a 60% stake in Cingular Wireless, the leading provider of wireless services in the United States. Offerings available from AT&T include a basic, wired broadband package – offering download speeds of up to 768Kbps, at a cost of around $15 per month (fixed for 2 years) and no contract requirement – and scale upwards to a “Internet Elite” package, at $35 per month, which offers download speeds of up to 6.0Mbps, a $100 “cashback” offer, and a free modem, or router, if ordered online. AT&T also offers a wireless, “DataConnect” service, allowing you to connect a laptop to the AT&T wireless network – subject, of course, to any coverage limitations – for a monthly fee of $60.

Other highly ranked broadband providers in the United States include the cable provider Road Runner – with a market share of 8.4% – and its services are mainly provided through Time Warner Cable and Urban Cableworks, amongst others. The exact cost of a cable broadband Internet connection does vary, does vary according to your precise geographical location, but Road Runner claims that for less than $60 per year – which includes free installation, and may be further reduced by “bundling” cable services together – high speed Internet access, plus web space for your homepage, and 5 individual email addresses can be yours.