Faster connection allows users to do more 

By Mike Snider
USA Today
June 24, 2002

Internet surfers who have high-speed "broadband" connections 
do more than just point, click and consume content — they also 
contribute to cyberspace by becoming creators.

Nearly six of 10 broadband users have created online content 
such as their own Web sites, or shared photos or other media 
with others, according to a report out today from the Pew 
Internet & American Life Project.

"From Day One, consumers realized the Internet's great application 
was as a two-way medium - not just one-to-one, but many-to-many 
communication. It's a different beast," says Lee Rainie, director 
of the Pew Internet & American Life Project. The findings, he says, 
"still reflect that enthusiasm. People are not passive recipients 
of media. They are creators and distributors, too."

The number of people in homes with high-speed connections (cable modem, 
digital subscriber phone line or satellite service) is rising rapidly - 
24 million U.S. residents, up 33% since December, Pew estimates, 
based on its survey of 507 Net users. Another 80 million connect 
to the Net using traditional dial-up connections. (Broadband delivers 
data at four or more times the speed of the fastest dial-up modems.)

When it comes to being creative, broadband users were twice as likely 
as dial-up users to have created personal Web sites or posted to 
other sites.

"When you have that broadband connection, one of the things you want 
to use it for is sharing things, whether photo albums or personal 
Web pages," says Joe Laszlo, analyst with Jupiter Media Metrix. 
He says that the Pew findings correspond with Jupiter's research.

Other highlights of the Pew survey:

- The average broadband user does seven things online daily, such 
as get news or listen to music. The average dial-up user does 
three. 

- 82% of broadband users are online daily, vs. 58% for dial-up 
users. 

- 69% of broadband homes have more than one computer; 55% have 
home networks. 

- Broadband has led 37% of Net users to watch TV less, and 31% 
to shop in stores less. 

- One in four broadband users say they spend more time working 
at home. 

Rainie says that the report's finding of steady growth in broadband 
adoption contradicts public perception that growth has stalled. 
While he expects the adoption rate to slow, "the demand is out 
there."

If providers want to attract new broadband customers, "they could 
market the creative advantage," Rainie says. Lowering access charges 
also might help - the average monthly bill is $46. "The price point 
is an issue," he says.

Somewhat surprising was the report's finding that downloading music 
was a daily activity for only 17% of broadband users; more popular 
activities included getting information about hobbies and 
downloading games and pictures.

However, Jupiter research suggests 40% to 50% of broadband users 
regularly download music.

"Music has been one of the things that we have seen (become) a 
killer application, to the extent there is one," Laszlo says.

But, says Rainie, the findings that broadband users do more and 
different activities buttress the Net's core strength. 
"The idea that there is a 'killer app,' this one great thing 
that will dominate the Internet space, is probably the wrong 
way to think about it," he says. "The Internet itself, in its 
variety and all of its manifestations, is the killer app."

E-mail msnider@usatoday.com