THE take-up of internet access by consumers has slowed to a crawl, with the dial-up market seeing no growth in subscriber numbers for the first time since the industry was launched in 1993.
Expected growth of 5% this year in the number of South Africans accessing the internet is down from the 32% growth seen in 2000, according to research by consultancy World Wide Worx.
This year will only see the addition of 200000 new users, up from 600000 in 2000, said Arthur Goldstuck, MD of World Wide Worx.
The growth in more-expensive broadband services came primarily from dial-up users switching to it, he said.
“While the arrival of broadband or high-speed internet access has transformed the landscape in terms of technology choice, its impact has been felt far more strongly in existing users migrating from dial-up usage than in new users coming online,” Goldstuck said.
About 3,6-million people in SA will have access to the internet at the end of the year, or one in every 12 people. That is up from one in 13 at the end of 2003.
The figures fall short of previously optimistic expectations about the growth rate, partly because the second network operator (SNO) has not been licensed to offer competitive networking services.
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Expected growth of 5% this year in the number of South Africans accessing the internet is down from the 32% growth seen in 2000, according to research by consultancy World Wide Worx.
This year will only see the addition of 200000 new users, up from 600000 in 2000, said Arthur Goldstuck, MD of World Wide Worx.
The growth in more-expensive broadband services came primarily from dial-up users switching to it, he said.
“While the arrival of broadband or high-speed internet access has transformed the landscape in terms of technology choice, its impact has been felt far more strongly in existing users migrating from dial-up usage than in new users coming online,” Goldstuck said.
About 3,6-million people in SA will have access to the internet at the end of the year, or one in every 12 people. That is up from one in 13 at the end of 2003.
The figures fall short of previously optimistic expectations about the growth rate, partly because the second network operator (SNO) has not been licensed to offer competitive networking services.
Click here for more
