High-Speed Internet Connections Rise 18%

TECHNOLOGY

The number of high-speed lines connecting U.S. businesses and homes to the Internet jumped 18% to 23.5 million lines during the first half of 2003, according to statistics recently released.

High-speed Internet service via cable showed a 20% jump, narrowly outpacing the 19% growth in digital subscriber lines offered by traditional telephone lines, according to the Federal Communications Commission.

There were 13.7 million lines served by cable versus 7.7 million DSLs. All but 3 million of the lines serve residents and small businesses and a solid majority, 16.3 million lines, were receiving service at speeds exceeding 200 kilobits per second in each direction.

Overall growth for high-speed Internet lines for the 12 months ended June 30 was 45%.

From Reuters