New York Local Market Dominates Broadband Usage.

The Internet ratings report for the month of April 2001 from Nielsen//NetRatings, the world’s fastest growing Internet audience measurement service, reveals that New York dominates high-speed access with more than 10 percent of the country’s broadband population living in the city and the surrounding metropolitan area.

Nearly six percent of the country’s high-speed Internet users reside in Los Angeles, while San Francisco and its surrounding high-tech region followed closely with 5.7 percent. Taking the No. 4 spot was Boston, with 4.7 percent and Seattle rounded out the top five with 3.6 percent. Of the top ten local markets, more than 30 percent of all U.S. broadband users live in the top five metropolitan areas of New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston and Seattle (see Table 1).

“In the past, high-speed providers focused the roll-out of their services to the top local market regions, like New York,” said T.S. Kelly, director of Internet Media Strategies, NetRatings. “New York’s building unit density has allowed for higher broadband usage growth, compared to the rest of the top local markets. The city’s apartment dwellings provide a much bigger consumer target than regions that have predominantly single-family units.”

Broadband Speeds to New Heights

Broadband access soared 134 percent in the past year. Nearly 16 million users accessed the Internet from home last month via cable modem, DSL, ISDN or LAN, compared to only 6.8 million in April 2000.

“Broadband serves as the perfect platform for rich media and the ‘always on’ allure could help legitimize the Internet as a mainstream medium for content and advertising, allowing for faster and convenient access to news and entertainment on the Web,” added Kelly. “As local telcos and cable companies expand their high-speed offerings, the increased availability of services for the rest of the U.S., coupled with competitive pricing and dynamic content can further increase the growth of broadband.”

Table 1. Nielsen//NetRatings Percent of Broadband Users by Local
Market Area, April 2001 (U.S., Home)

Local Market Area – Percent of Broadband Users

1. New York – 10.2
2. Los Angeles – 5.9
3. San Francisco – 5.8
4. Boston – 4.7
5. Seattle – 3.6
6. Dallas – 3.5
7. Chicago – 3.1
8. Philadelphia – 2.9
9. San Diego – 2.7
10. Detroit – 2.4

Source: Nielsen//NetRatings

— Percent of broadband users is an aggregation of ISDN, LAN, Cable
Modem, DSL and other high-speed access.

Fro more iformation at http://www.nielsen-netratings.com.