Despite leading the world in broadband subscribers, the US dropped from 17th to 20th place in broadband penetration over the past year. Falling behind Sweden, the UK, and tiny Luxembourg the US grew by only 27.1% to 44.5% penetration from March 2005 to March 2006. Meanwhile, US broadband penetration among active Internet users grew 1.34 percentage points to 73.1% in June 2006.
Worldwide Broadband Penetration Trends
Worldwide, from March 2005 to March 2006, the US dropped from 17th to 20th place in broadband penetration among all countries surveyed. While the percentage of broadband households in the US grew by 27.1% over the past year (from 34.97% to 44.45%) the US fell behind Sweden, the UK, and Luxembourg due to their higher broadband growth rates (see Figure 2). UK broadband grew 52.3% from 29.6% to 45.1% penetration, leapfrogging the US from 21st to 18th, while tiny Luxembourg surged nearly 85% over the past year to 19th place. South Korea still leads all countries with 83% broadband penetration, followed by Hong Kong with 80.98%, Iceland at 74%, Israel at 69.08%, and Taiwan at 64.65% penetration.
Worldwide Broadband Penetration Trends
Worldwide, from March 2005 to March 2006, the US dropped from 17th to 20th place in broadband penetration among all countries surveyed. While the percentage of broadband households in the US grew by 27.1% over the past year (from 34.97% to 44.45%) the US fell behind Sweden, the UK, and Luxembourg due to their higher broadband growth rates (see Figure 2). UK broadband grew 52.3% from 29.6% to 45.1% penetration, leapfrogging the US from 21st to 18th, while tiny Luxembourg surged nearly 85% over the past year to 19th place. South Korea still leads all countries with 83% broadband penetration, followed by Hong Kong with 80.98%, Iceland at 74%, Israel at 69.08%, and Taiwan at 64.65% penetration.