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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.?"

3 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.

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  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.

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  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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