Broadband usage in USA climbs fast!

[antowan]

Good day!

Read this :

http://money.cnn.com/2004/12/22/technology/broadband.reut/index.htm?cnn=yes

Cheers
Ant

 

[bb_matt]

Yep - same in the UK too :-

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4110733.stm

Four years ago, the UK was in much the same position as here in South Africa, quite a few things changed that - EU subsidies, extending the network, more competition.

I'm hoping that by late 2005 and into 2006 we'll be seeing cheaper broadband here in SA, if only because our businesses will be left behind if the cost stays too high and also to try to bridge the huge digital divide we have. Now that phones are more available than ever before, even to the lower income earners, internet services should start to follow suit - it can only benefit our economy in the long run, just like it did for India.

I can't see how the insane pricing can hold for much longer - the upper income market will eventually get saturated and the only way to go from that point is into lower income markets and into the rest of Africa.

IOW, don't sign up for any 24 month contracts right at the moment

 

[ic]

I especially like this titbit about "universal", if only BushyTail actually knew that universal doesn't just mean the USA:

President Bush pledged during his 2004 re-election bid to ensure there would be universal access to broadband by 2007.

Added: I was curious to know if SA even features on the broadband rankings (like the 2nd last on the list or something), after a bit of googling I gave up, I did manage to establish that this is the International Telecommunications Union's site