Broadband Shows 55% Growth in 2002

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High speed lines to home and businesses increased by 55 percent last year, according to data released Tuesday by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

Broadband connections increased by 23 percent during the second half of 2002, from 16.2 million to 19.9 million lines, compared to a 27 percent increase, from 12.8 million to 16.2 million lines, during the first half of 2002.

Facilities-based service providers file data with the FCC on the amount of high-speed connections in service twice a year to help the agency evaluate the deployment of advanced telecommunications capability.

For reporting purposes, high-speed lines are defined as those that provide services at speeds exceeding 200 kilobits per second (kbps) in at least one direction, while advanced services lines are those that provide services at speeds exceeding 200 kbps in both directions.

Advanced services lines increased during the second half of 2002, from 10.4 million to 13 million lines. For the full year, advanced services lines of all technology types increased by 75 percent.

High-speed asymmetric digital subscriber lines (ADSL) technologies in service increased by 27 percent during the second half of 2002, from 5.1 million to 6.5 million lines, compared to a 29 percent increase, from over 3.9 million to 5.1 million lines, during the preceding six months. For the full year, high-speed ADSL increased by 64 percent.

High-speed service over coaxial cable systems (cable modem service) increased by 24 percent during the last six months of 2002, from 9.2 million to 11.4 million lines, compared to a 30 percent increase, from 7.1 million to 9.2 million lines, during the first half of 2002. For the full year, high-speed cable modem connections increased by 61 percent.

Among advanced services lines, ADSL lines increased by 52 percent during the last six months of 2002, compared to a 22 percent increase for cable modem service. During the preceding six-month period, the rate of growth of cable modem (55 percent) exceeded that of ADSL (35 percent).

For the full year, advanced services lines — service lines provided in excess of 200 kbps in both directions — for ADSL increased by 105 percent and cable modem connections increased by 90 percent.

The summary statistics released Tuesday also includes state-by-state, population density, and household income information, ranked by zip codes.