FUDBusters: Broadband Everywhere? Not So Fast

FUDFactor: Broadband Internet access in homes and offices across the United States is spreading so rapidly that it will soon be as common as cable TV. IT managers and network service providers should assume broadband access to be the norm for future remote-access applications and services.

FUDBust: Broadband did indeed seem to be spreading like wildfire just a couple of years ago, but a new study by Pew Internet & American Life Project, an independent think tank, suggests it might be premature to assume a broadband connection in every home or office. In the first six months of this year, about 53 percent of home Internet users said they were using broadband, which was just a 3 percentage-point increase over the last six months of 2004. From November 2003 to May 2004, the growth rate was around 20 percent, but the early-adopter phase is now drawing to a close, according to Pew researchers. Time will tell if new low-cost services budge the laggards, but for now, don't assume broadband as the norm for remote access .