Two out of five US residents have Broadband at home, according to the findings of a recent report by Nielsen/NetRatings, a market research firm. The number of Americans with broadband access reached 42 percent of the U.S. population in August, increasing 16% to 120.8 million. Much of the recent growth has come to low cost broadband plans, but the growth is beginning to taper off. Nielsen/NetRatings also reported that in August 2005, the percent of active U.S. Internet users connecting online via broadband from home reached
an all-time high, at 61.3 percent, compared with 51.4 percent of active Internet users in August last year.
via PR Newswire
Maybe WiMax (if it ever gets out of trial) will drive more penetration in rural america.
The dirty little secret of wireless is that while it is more cost effective than wired, it is not free. This means that you build where the money is and that is generally not rural America. There is a reason your cell phone doesn’t work too well out in the country. The only reason some places have phone service is because the the government forces/pays companies to porvide it. The only way these same places will get broadband is if the government forces/pays companies to provide it.