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More Americans Use DSL

According to the Federal Communications Commission, the number of high-speed Internet subscriptions in US increased by 33 percent last year and is now more than 50million lines. The number of DSL (digital subscriber line) subscriptions is much larger now than cable companies` subscriptions. As a result, the cable industry`s market share dropped 3.5 percentage points to 57.5 percent while DSL gained 3.3 percentage points to reach 40.5. DSL is usually cheaper than cable Internet service, but offers slower download speeds. The United States is ranked 12th in the world for broadband subscribers behind countries including Iceland, South Korea and Japan.

Around 42 percent of Americans had high-speed Internet access at home in March 2006, according to the Pew Internet & American Life Project. That was up from 30 percent of Americans with high-speed access one year earlier.

The telephone and cable companies in the US are in a constant battle to offer customers a package of communications services, including voice, data, wireless and subscription television.