JupiterResearch predicts that 79 million U.S. households and 110 million Western European households will have broadband access by 2011. "In the US, strong momentum on the part of telephone companies means that DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) will overtake cable modems in market share by 2010," said Joe Laszlo, research director at JupiterResearch and lead author of the "US Broadband Forecast, 2006 to 2011" report.

At the end of 2005, 36 percent of U.S. households were connected to the internet via broadband; although that proportion is forecast to increase to 65 percent by 2011, the U.S. market will continue to lag those of many Western European countries, according to Jupiter.

In Western Europe, DSL will retain its already dominant position over cable modems. JupiterResearch forecasts in "European Internet Access and Broadband Forecast, 2006 to 2011," that by 2011, 88.9 million out of the 110 million total broadband households will be using DSL.

In Europe, far lower broadband prices will drive higher penetration rates: The average European household will generate 54 percent less broadband access revenue in 2011 compared with 2005.