GartnerG2 Says Broadband is Hitting Critical Mass Among U.S. Households in 2003
Analysts Discuss the Impact of Broadband During Gartner Symposium/ITxpo 2003
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla., October 23, 2003 — Broadband in the United States has reached critical mass and the impact on the media industry will be massive. By the end of 2003, 18 million U.S. households will be using broadband services and, by 2007, broadband is predicted to be in 46 million households nationwide, according to GartnerG2, a research service from Gartner, Inc.
These findings were presented today during Gartner Symposium/ITxpo 2003, which is taking place here, October 19 through 24.
"The rapid growth and adoption of broadband will enable more consumers to purchase more media than any time in history, increasing media power and profits for the next two decades and forcing the media industry into a disruptive digital revolution," said James Brancheau, vice president for GartnerG2. "Broadband bypasses the entrenched media value web, which depends primarily on television, radio and voice telephone."
Broadband is the key element in what GartnerG2 describes as the U.S. digital home. The digital home is defined as an active user of digital information, communication, entertainment and commerce. As consumers switch from dial-up to broadband, their consumption in all of these categories greatly increases.
According to GartnerG2, consumers accessing entertainment, such as games, music and video clips, jumps from 24 percent for dial-up users to 40 percent for broadband users. Conducting transactions, such as purchasing, banking and trading stocks, rises from 21 percent to 36 percent.
"The power of broadband becomes evident when analyzing consumers' behavior when they switch from dial-up to broadband," said Brancheau. "Broadband consumers use all digital services more heavily than dial-up consumers, they enjoy more PC-based entertainment, communication and commerce, and they also spend more money on online entertainment and commerce."
According to Gartner, the biggest inhibitor to future media growth as a byproduct of increased broadband access is the lack of home entertainment connectivity, such as PC-to-stereo for music, and PC-to-TV for video.
Gartner Symposium/ITxpo is the IT industry's largest and most strategic conference, providing business leaders with an insightful look at the future of IT. For more than 10,000 IT professionals from the world's leading enterprises, Gartner's annual Symposium/ITxpo events are key components of their annual planning efforts. For more information about Gartner Symposium/ITxpo 2003, please visit www.gartner.com/symposium or call 1-800-778-1997.
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