About 5.7 million U.S. households will become new high-speed Internet customers this year, a 12 percent decrease in subscriber growth compared to 2008, according to a new forecast by market research firm Pike & Fischer.
The total number of broadband -connected homes will reach nearly 74.5 million by the end of 2009, representing about 63 percent of all U.S. households.
The cable industry will attract about 75 percent of new broadband subscribers. The major phone companies such as Verizon and AT&T are offering new fiber-optic Internet services that can surpass speeds offered by cable, most of their service areas are covered only by DSL service, which consumers are increasingly avoiding because its speeds are slower than cable.
"In addition, policy-makers are likely to support training and education programs aimed at increasing customer adoption of broadband. These steps could offset what will be an inevitable slowdown in subscriber growth."
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