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U.S. Internet Growth Stalling

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the horseless-carriages-are-such-a-bad-idea dept.

abb_road writes "Internet usage is predicted to grow by only 1% in 2006, with uptake slowing even more in subsequent years. The article examines causes for the slowdown, including individuals who are actively choosing to not be online. These non-users cite a number of reasons for their decision, including cost and increased productivity. Is this simply a combination of luddites and a statistical quirk, or is the Internet reaching its saturation point in the U.S.?"

5 of 318 comments (clear)

  1. Enough with the hand wringing by Shadow+Wrought · · Score: 4, Informative
    Eventually, pretty everyone who wants a product has it. Those who don't want it, don't get it. Just because internet growth has been expanding by leaps and bounds is not a reason to think it will always be so.

    Its like after opening day in baseball when a third of the players in the league are projected to bat .500 with 162 homeruns and 400+ RBIs.

    --
    If brevity is the soul of wit, then how does one explain Twitter?
  2. It's expensive to get a good connection by jdehnert · · Score: 3, Informative

    It's still costly to get a decent connection. Where I live I have a good ISP that provides quality DSL service with support (unlike ATT/SBC which has what has to be the worst customer support on the planet), but even with all of that I'm paying $60/month for my DSL. Once the long term contracts with ATT expire I'm certain that ATT will 'screw my ISP to the wall' so that I'll need to choose between a $60 ATT line with the worlds worst service, or an $85 (or higher) line from my IPS, or I can get on Comcast's 1000 household per subnet cable connections. The future looks dim.

    I have friends who live paycheck to paycheck, and $720 per year for internet access is something they can do without.

    --
    Eschew Obfuscation
    1. Re:It's expensive to get a good connection by LaCosaNostradamus · · Score: 2, Informative

      That's precisely the reason, but now we have to hear all the elitist bitching about how these people need to "get a real job" and "stop being a Luddite". The digital class doesn't want to deal with this truth.

      Internet access is not a piddling expense. At a minimum average, people have to pay about $15/mo for dialup; hence, $180/yr. And the Internet at dialup speeds is only so interesting; for example, no online low-ping games, no video, very little audio, no large graphics, etc.

      The only next step upward is DSL, cable or satellite, and the price jump is very significant. There are people who can eke out a minimum increase in their monthly costs, and with select bundling I know people who have SAVED money (because of having 2 phone lines to begin with, etc.). But largely, taking the next step means you're suddenly in the $50/mo realm -- $600/yr on average.

      Well, six hundred bucks is an extra fucking RENT payment. Broadband is still too expensive for the masses. If the bb providers don't drop that rate to about $20/mo, what we're going to see is people starting to either downgrade to dialup, or lose the Internet connection entirely.

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      [You have a stable society when some nut guns down a schoolyard and the law doesn't change.]
  3. Re:Reasoning based on false assumptions by Ken_g6 · · Score: 4, Informative

    Likewise, from the end of the article:

    Puente doesn't even have a computer at home. That would mean spending close to $1,000, plus an additional $15 to $20 a month for Internet service, not to mention the inevitable upgrades. "You always have to buy some new software to make it juicier," she says. "What kind of juice would I be getting out of it? Nothing."

    1. You can get a computer for ~$500.
    2. I have internet for $7 a month (going up to $10 after the first year).
    3. Aside from software required for school or work, I haven't bought any software in years. There are too many good free/OSS solutions out there!

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    (T>t && O(n)--) == sqrt(666)
  4. are you paranoid? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    you sound as paranoid as these guys: http://anonetnfo.brinkster.net.nyud.net:8090/