Broadband continues to grow…

According to this article in Reuters, “the top U.S. telephone and cable companies added a record 2.6 million high-speed Internet lines in the first quarter, a 7 percent increase spurred by price cuts by telephone companies.” Providers are accelerating their connectivity backends in anticipation of what? Increased access? Or is it anticipating more content (e.g., video) being consumed?

According to this article in Internet Week, “The number of online adults as of April reached 163 million, a 4 percent increase over eight month ago, market researcher Harris Interactive said. Fully 74 percent of adults are online at home, in the office, at school, the library or other location, a 1 percent increase over the summer of 2004. In 2000, 57 percent of U.S. adults were online.” We’re already beyond critical mass.

I submit that it’s both being anticipatory of more use and competition within the provider space. Either way, bandwidth will grow and costs will fall.