U.S. Broadband Growth Slows - Analyst
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WASHINGTON  - U.S. telephone and cable companiessaw the growth of high-speed Internet services slow in thesecond quarter to the lowest rate in a year, an industryresearch firm said on Tuesday.
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By the end of the year, broadband Internet use in the U.S. will cross the 50 percent mark, according to market research firm Parks Associates, with more than 60 million households connecting to the Internet at 200 kilobits per second or faster.
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New data shows third-quarter slowdown in euro-zone growth
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Housing data and a gauge of business  spending in June released on Thursday signaled slower U.S.  economic growth ahead, leading many to believe the Federal  Reserve is less likely to raise interest rates next month.
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Nearly four years have passed since the peak of the fiber-optic boom, but overcapacity continues to plague carriers, and prices for bandwidth continue to fall. By Joanna Glasner.
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The US economy grew more slowly in the second quarter than previously stated, as it struggled under an increasing trade deficit and a slowdown in consumer spending, the Commerce Department said Friday.
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The network equipment maker reported that its quarterly net income grew 7.2 percent amid growing concern that economic weakness could affect technology spending this year.
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US economic growth should slow over the coming year as consumers cut back on spending, but improved business confidence should help hiring, a wide-ranging survey of forecasters found.
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(InfoWorld) - Two members of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission called for the federal government to create a wide-ranging national broadband strategy to help small businesses compete on a global level. Too many U.S. small businesses have no access to broadband, and many others can't afford it, said Michael Copps and Jonathan Adelstein, Democratic members of the FCC. The cost of consumer-level broadband per megabit in the United States is about seven times the cost in Japan, Adelstein told the U.S. Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee. Small businesses "typically pay too much for a service that is too slow," Copps said. "It's not just a matter of national pride we're talking about -- it's a business issue." A survey in 2005 found that small businesses paid an average of $720 per month for a T1 line, added Ben Scott, policy director of Free Press, a media reform advocacy group. In Chicago, customers pay $80 to $90 a month for 1MbpsÂ of broadband, but in smaller Urbana, Ill., the cost is about $300, Scott said. In Greenup, Ill., a city with about 1,500 residents south of Chicago, the monthly cost of a 1Mbps connection is $1,300, Scott said. Small businesses in small towns and rural areas lack the same technological edge that many overseas competitors have, Scott said. "The head start we're giving our global competition is taking it just a bit too far," he said. Senators John Kerry, a Massachusetts Democrat, and Olympia Snowe, a Maine Republican, complained that President George Bush set a policy goal in 2004 for all U.S. residents to have broadband available by this year, but didn't back it up with policies. "We had the goal but not the tactics," Snowe said. A national broadband policy should include better data about where broadband service is lacking, said the FCC's Adelstein. The FCC still says a postal zip code has broadband if one customer there does, he said. Congress should provide more money for broadband build-out in rural areas, and the Republican majority at the FCC should stop a deregulatory approach that has led to few broadband competitors, he said. Adelstein also called for a national summit on broadband that would bring together customers, providers, members of Congress and the Bush administration, and others to address broadband availability. "We should make broadband the dial tone of the 21st century," he said. Not everyone at the hearing complained about the state of broadband in the United States. There's little evidence of a broadband problem in the United States, said Scott Wallsten, director of communications policy studies at the Progress and Freedom Foundation, a conservative think tank. "Telephone, cable, and wireless companies are investing billions in new high-speed infrastructure, and consumers and businesses are adopting broadband at remarkable rates," Wallsten said. Verizon CommunicationsÂ alone is planning to spend $23 billion on its fiber-optic network by 2010, he said. People calling for government solutions "fail to provide solid analysis showing that their proposals would actually benefit consumers or small businesses," Wallsten added. Sen. Bob Corker, a Tennessee Republican, laid the problems back at the feet of Copps and Adelstein. The FCC has the power to encourage more broadband competition through anÂ upcoming auction of radio spectrum, he said. Several companies want to provide nationwide wireless broadband if the January auction is set up right, he said. "It seems like to me you have the tools at the FCC," he said.
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U.S. satellite TV operators DirecTV  Group Inc.  and EchoStar Communications Corp.   are expected to report steady subscriber growth in the fourth  quarter, but face a slowdown this year due to increased  competition from cable, analysts said.
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US communications regulators on Thursday insisted the United States was making progress in rolling out high-speed Internet service, despite falling further behind other countries.
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Not all of the cable company's broadband subscribers got a recent hike in bandwidth.
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Growth in the vast U.S. services  sector slowed in September, with a significant decrease in  prices paid but a solid employment component, according to an  industry survey published on Tuesday.
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A weakening U.S. housing market and  a steady flow of Americans seeking jobless benefits will help  lead to a slowed economy over the coming months, data released  on Thursday showed.
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The U.S. economy grew at a  weaker-than-expected 3.1 percent annual pace in the final  quarter of 2004, its slowest since the beginning of 2003 as the  country's trade performance deteriorated and inflation picked  up, a government report on Friday showed.
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Time Warner Inc  forecast on Wednesday profit growth to slow but possibly exceed analyst estimates in 2008 after reporting quarterly earnings that reflected increases in broadband and phone subscribers and sales of "Harry Potter" and "300" home videos.
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US economic growth slowed more than expected in the second quarter of 2006, revised official data says.