US broadband speeds set to explode

Ultra high-speed broadband is set to become far more common in the coming years, say analysts.

Research firm Parks Associates predicted that by the year 2012, 33 million US households will have a broadband connection of 10Mbps or higher. Currently, only 5.7 million homes are capable of handling such speeds.

Much of the boost is credited to a decline in the use of DSL services, which face competition from faster and increasingly affordable cable internet connections.

The firm predicts that phone companies will struggle to keep up with cable internet providers and shift their focus from DSL services to new fibre-optic offerings. This, say analysts, will trigger a flood of competing high bandwith services.

As a result, the number of households who will be able to access the high-bandwidth internet services could increase by as many as six times.

The firm cautions, however, that a boost of bandwidth alone may not be enough to satisfy consumers. Content providers will also need to improve their offerings, said the company.

"As consumer excitement over pure bandwidth subsides, however, service providers will have to deliver appealing, bandwidth-intensive, value-added services such as HD video streaming and content placeshifting in order to retain customers," said Michael Cai, director of broadband and gaming for Parks Associates.

"If high-bandwidth broadband services fail to reach mass-market consumers, the United States may lose its competitive edge in the next round of technology innovation."