Charts and Graphs

Trend 1: Slowing US Internet Growth

The first trend is a slowing of Internet growth in the US. The gold rush growth of the Internet in the US is finally slowing. Many US businesses are seeing a plateauing of visitors. The following chart, compiled from a variety of studies, shows Internet users from 1995 through December 2000 (in millions of users).

	US	Outside US	US % Growth	Outside US % Growth
1995	18M	8M
1996	40M	21M	122%	163%
1997	62M	39M	55%	86%
1998	79M	71M	27%	82%
1999	122M	126M	54%	77%
2000	153M	254M	25%	102%

Graphs of Internet users worldwide show strong growth from 1995 through 1999 both in the US and outside the US. But in the year 2000 the percentage growth in the US slowed to 25% compared to 102% growth outside the US. And what is happening in the US will impact European countries in a few years, too. Without a natural increase of new users to feed your business, you'll need to consider advertising to bring new customers.

Use of broadband technology by all businesses

Sixty-three (63) per cent of businesses with Internet access in Australia in 2004-2005 used broadband technology. Of these, 68 per cent used a DSL connection, 26 per cent used cable technology, 4 per cent used wireless, and 2 per cent used other broadband technology.

Entry level price of DSL access

Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) technology, together with cable technology, is the broadband service preferred by a majority of Internet users in many countries. This is because of its greater availability and competitive price compared to other broadband technologies. In recent years the entry level price of DSL has shown a general downward trend across most of these countries, with Australia recording a decrease in the price of entry level DSL broadband services from PPP US$22.16 in the June Quarter 2004, to PPP US$18.07 in June 2006.

Entry level price of cable access

While cable is more expensive than DSL, it is still competitive compared to other broadband technologies. The entry level price in Australia fell from US$28.94 in March 2005 to US$21.70 in June 2006.