Survey: Broadband Penetration Passes Three Quarter Mark

About
78% of US households have a broadband Internet service at home, according to a
new survey from the Leichtman Research Group, Inc. (LRG) but that the overall
proportion of households with an Internet connection at home has leveled off to
about 83%, about the same as last year.

Broadband
services now account for 94% of the internet services among households with
Internet service. That marks only a slight increase from 92% last year. High
speed broadband accounted for only 33% in 2004 and 75% in 2008.

The
new study also found that 55% of adults access the Internet on a Smartphone, up
from 44% last year.

The
findings are part of a LRG survey and study, "Broadband Access & Services
in the Home 2013," which the research company has been conducting for the last
11 years.

"While
overall online penetration at home has flattened, broadband has grown by
attracting previous narrowband customers, late-adopters of online at home, and
movers into new households," said Bruce Leichtman, president and principal
analyst for Leichtman Research Group, Inc. in a statement. "Despite an
increasingly limited base of potential new subscribers, and some consumers
opting to solely access the Internet on a Smartphone, broadband will continue
to grow at a modest pace for the next few years."

The
survey also found little change in the number of homes that have a broadband
service but no pay TV services, with 9% of all households falling into that
category, up from 8% in the past two years.

In
terms of mobile, the survey found that 19% of those who do not have a home
internet connection now get online via their smart phone, up from 12% last
year. In addition, 64% of broadband subscribers also access the Internet on a
Smartphone, up from 52% last year.

Less
than 1% of all online households say that broadband is not available in their
area, down from 6% in 2008.

The
study was based on a telephone survey of 1,304 adults age 18 and older,
including 150 cell phone calls, and was primarily conducted in July of 2013.