ComScore Networks on Thursday also said that among the largest 50 markets, San Diego, Boston and New York led the nation in the usage of broadband connections.
The Reston, Va.-based Internet audience measurement and research company said the fourth quarter of 2003 results indicate that the shift from dial-up to broadband will continue with strong momentum, with more than one in four Internet users reporting that they intend to switch their Internet Service Provider (ISP) in the next six months.
The majority of those users plan to pick a broadband provider as their next ISP. The most commonly cited reason for changing ISPs was the desire for a faster connection.
"In the past several months, we've seen the U.S. online population reach 150 million people and household broadband penetration cross the 33 percent threshold," ComScore Vice President Russ Fradin said. "Now we've recorded another milestone, with broadband accounting for more than half of a major U.S. market's Internet connections."
At the national level, 36 percent of online users accessed the web through a high-speed connection in the fourth quarter of 2003, up 2 points from 34 percent in the third quarter.
Philadelphia-based Comcast Cable Communications Inc. holds the dominant position in the broadband market, providing access to approximately 19 percent of broadband users and 7 percent of all online users. San Antonio, Texas-based SBC Communications Inc., the nation's largest DSL provider, accounts for 11 percent of consumer broadband connections and 6 percent of total ISP subscriptions. America Online, a unit of New York-based Time Warner Inc., continues to supply Internet access (dial-up and broadband) to more Americans than any other provider, with a 28 percent share.
