The number of broadband lines in the U.S. increased to almost 38 million in 2004, up from about 28.2 million, according to the latest report on U.S. high-speed internet connections released by the FCC last week (via MediaBuyerPlanner).
About five million cable lines were added, compared with 4.3 million for DSL, and advanced cable lines increased more than twice as quickly as advanced DSL lines.
Although broadband lines in the U.S. continue to increase, the speeds of broadband connections in other countries surpass those of U.S. lines, eMarketer writes.
That's because the FCC defines "high speed" as all lines faster than 200 kbps in at least one direction, with "advanced high-speed" referring to those with speeds above 200 kbps in both directions. U.S. subscribers, then, are surfing with high-speed connections far slower than those in Japan and South Korea, for example, where speeds top 8,000 kbps.
