Hurry Up And Wait

American Demographics, June 1, 2003 by Pamela Paul

As with the Internet, broadband isn't exclusively a phenomenon among the young: Usage and growth are strongest among Baby Boomers. According to the Nielsen//NetRatings study, the highest rate of broadband growth is among 50- to 54-year-olds, with 3 million people in that age bracket using broadband, compared with 4 million 12- to 17-year-olds. The number of seniors ages 65 to 69 using broadband grew 67 percent in 2002, to 1.3 million people, nearly identical to the growth rate among teens.

Broadband subscribers overwhelmingly cite speed and convenience as their primary motives for agreeing to fork over the extra cash each month. A 2002 Claritas survey of broadbanders found that nearly 6 in 10 (57 percent) use it for convenience, 17 percent use it to download large files and 10 percent use it for the unlimited online hours. Its speed comes in handy, particularly at the workplace: 81 percent of all broadband users surveyed have access at work, according to the survey by the Pew Internet & American Life Project. Forty-three percent say high-speed linkups at the office influenced their decision to upgrade at home; one-third say they are also occasional telecommuters.

Broadband enables consumers to download and play music, view streaming video programs, play online games and employ certain software applications for the Internet - all of which becomes much easier with faster access. Fully 69 percent of broadband users say they download files more frequently because of their high-speed connection, and 72 percent stream audio and video content more often, according to the 2002 Pew survey. An October 2002 telephone survey of 351 online news users, conducted by Market Facts (now Synovate) for MSNBC.com, found that broadband users watch streaming video an average of 5.1 times per month, versus 1.5 times per month for those who dial up.

Broadbanders spend more time - a lot more time - online than their dial-up counterparts. According to a February 2003 Arbitron/Edison Media Research study, the average broadband user spends 13 hours online per week, compared with 8 hours for people with dial-up connections. Similarly, the Nielsen//NetRatings study of at-home and at-work Internet usage found that broadbanders spent an average of 17 hours and 20 minutes online in December 2002, compared with an average of fewer than 10 hours by those who had to dial up. They also viewed an average of 1,300 Web pages, more than twice the number viewed by dial-up users.

Broadband subscribers index higher in terms of satisfaction with their Internet access and loyalty to its provider than their dial-up counterparts. The Arbitron/Edison study found that people who have broadband are more than twice as happy with their service as dial-up users: 73 percent of those with a cable modem at home, and 71 percent of people with a DSL at home, say they are "very satisfied," versus 31 percent of those using a dial-up connection at home. - PP

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