Report: 33M Homes to Have 10Mbps Access by 2012

DALLAS

March 11, 2008 SSI Staff

By 2012, close to 33 million U.S. households will have broadband services with speeds of 10Mbps or higher, capable of streaming high-definition video, according to Parks Associates’ North American Broadband Market Update. At year-end 2007, 5.7 million, or 9 percent of U.S. broadband households, were equipped with such speeds.

“Until recently, telecom operators’ aggressive deployment of deep fiber services and the competitive reaction from cable MSOs fueled the growth of high-bandwidth broadband services,” says Yuanzhe (Michael) Cai, director of broadband and gaming, Parks Associates. “As consumer excitement over pure bandwidth subsides, however, service providers will have to deliver appealing, bandwidth-intensive, value-added services such as HD video streaming and content placeshifting in order to retain customers and increase ARPU.”

Investment in new broadband technologies and the growing breadth of broadband entertainment content are key market drivers. However, service providers’ missteps in bandwidth management practices, uncertainty around “network neutrality,” and the contentious relationship between facility-based broadband service providers and over-the-top Internet companies may slow progress, according to the report.

“If high-bandwidth broadband services fail to reach mass-market consumers, the United States may lose its competitive edge in the next round of technology innovation,” Cai says. “Such a scenario would be unpleasant.”

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