Expansion in Wired and Wireless Households

Marketers of many products may be facing a sea-change in technological savvy and capabilities of their customers. Researchers at Jupiter Media Metrix report that the percent of U.S. households who access the Internet via a high-speed connection will quadruple within 5 years. The expansion of broadband connectivity to include 41 percent of all households is being driven by cable modems. Moreover, broadband consumers use Internet services differently than dial-up subscribers. They are 80 percent more likely to download music (46% vs. 26%) and 50 percent more likely to use the Web for stock market-related activities.

Wireless Internet subscribers will rise even more rapidly according to IDC. Charul Vyas, senior research analyst at IDC's Wireless and Mobile Communications program expects that wireless Internet usage will rise a compound annual rate of 73 percent, from approximately 5 million subscribers in 2000 to more than 84 million by 2005. He also said that in the near future, wireless data transfer rates will be faster than landline dial-up rates as carriers roll out their new networks.