'Tis a fact: Faster access ups web use

'The folks that jumped from low speed to high speed are spending more time online, going to more sites, and consuming more content.'

'Tis a fact: Faster
access ups web use

Study finds more online activity with broadband

By Marty Beard

    It's long been presumed that once people moved from dial-up internet access to high-speed broadband connections, it would change how the web is used.
    It turns out that this presumption is pretty much on target.
    Indeed, web surfers’ internet consumption habits change dramatically once they upgrade to broadband connections, according to a recent study from Nielsen//NetRatings.
    They spend more time online and do more while they’re logged on.
    "The folks that jumped from low speed to high speed are spending more time online, going to more sites, and consuming more content," says T.S. Kelly, director and principal analyst at Nielsen//NetRatings.
    "What broadband offers is a much more pleasant environment, and it allows consumers to do more things."
    Nielsen examined the usage patterns of people who didn’t use broadband access in January and compared them to their usage patterns in July, after they’d gotten high-speed access.
    After users switched from dial-up to DSL or cable internet access, the total number of web pages they saw increased 55 percent and the number of online sessions increased 25 percent.
    The number of page views increased 130 percent between January and July, to 5.5 billion.
    Users conducted 28 online sessions a month in July, compared to 22 in January.
    Additionally, new broadband users spent 23 percent more time surfing the web: 15 hours a month in July as opposed to 12 hours a month in January.
    The sustained increase in time online indicates that web surfers are getting over the "new toy" or novelty effect of having faster internet access.
    Some earlier studies indicated that people’s time online after getting broadband actually ended up decreasing because they could achieve their goals online much more quickly with high speed.
    But the Nielsen//NetRatings numbers indicate otherwise.
    "I agree in certain respects that there is a leveling-off of usage after the sense of the uniqueness of it wears off, but I think the numbers hold true," says Kelly. "After the uniqueness wears off, there’s still a significant increase in usage across the board when people go from being dial-up users to being broadband users."
    Not surprisingly, the number of people using high-speed internet access from home last month reached a new high: 18 million people, a 121 percent increase over the number of broadband users in January.
    That means that about 17 percent of all active internet users go online using high-speed connections.
    Despite this growth, the further spread of broadband will be inhibited by several factors, according to Kelly: cost, availability and the content itself.
    Most important, the content needs to get better. As Kelly says, there’s nothing online yet to make broadband seem more a necessity than a luxury.
    "The content killer ap, the I-want-my-MTV-style killer ap, has not surfaced," says Kelly, who adds that there are many candidates, including Napster and its successors, plus interactive television and gaming.
    Additionally prices are roughly double the monthly cost of a dial-up, in part because many high-speed access providers are financially troubled, heavily debt-ridden companies, following their purchase of the spectrum necessary for wireless.
    One solution for that, Kelly says, could be better bundling of high-speed access with other desirable services such as cable.
    "That is an attractive value proposition to the consumer that’s looking for a sense of value to the dollar," Kelly says.
    "There are only X amount of dollars to be spent in each household. How much expendable cash does each household have, for not only cable, but movies, restaurants, all that stuff and then also high-speed access over and above the $20-$25 a month they’re already spending on internet access in the home?"
    Additionally access to broadband service is still sporadic. One out of every 10 active users is clustered in the New York area, says Kelly, an indication of how much high-speed access remains concentrated in the major markets.
    "Those things all play themselves out to get to that next stage of growth. We’ve saturated the early adopters. Now it’s time to hit middle America," Kelly says.

Change in Surfing Behavior of New Broadband Users January 2001 vs. July 2001
Activity	Before broadband, January 2001	After broadband, July 2001	Percent change
Page views	2.4 billion	5.5 billion	130
Pages per person	757	1170	55
Number of sessions	22.03	27.5	25
Time spent online per person, (hr:min:sec)	12:21:50	15:14:00	23
Source: Nielsen//NetRatings

Internet Connection Speed Growth January 2001 vs. July 2001
Connection	Unique audience, January 2001	Unique audience, July 2001	Percent change
High speed	8,003,000	17,703,000	121
56K modem	49,666,000	64,290,000	29
28.8/33.6K modem	24,205,000	15,523,000	-36
14.4K modem	5,304,000	3,907,000	-26
Source: Nielsen//NetRatings

-Marty Beard is a staff writer for Media Life.

Send to a Friend| Printer-Friendly Version
Cover Page | Contact Us