In a report just issued by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the number of U.S. broadband users has nearly tripled between June 2001 and December 2003. As of the survey, 28 million lines of high-speed access to the Internet, defined as at least 200 Kbps bandwidth in at least one direction, are in use in the United States.

Cable and Asynchronous Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) serve provide the majority of broadband service: cable, 75 percent; ADSL, 15 percent. In 2001, at the time of the previous FCC report, the relative percentages were: cable, 56 percent; ADSL, 17 percent.

As of December 2003, only 7 percent of U.S. ZIP (Zone Improvement Plan) Codes, had no high-speed service, down from 22 percent in 2001. Also, 46 percent of U.S. ZIP have four or more providers of high-speed service.

Dave's Opinion

I'm a fan of cable broadband service, and it seems that many online Americans share my opinion. I detest dial-up service, it makes teaching class a drudgery, and it's too slow for me to listen to my favorite radio stations. I can easily do without cable TV; however, I can't do without our cable modem. Now, the big question is, are we ready for VOIP (Voice Over IP).