How broadband users use those big pipes

Broadband users are on the web more often and view more pages than dial-up users, according to Comscore, but they don’t appear to have any special interest in content designed for their speedy connections.

Broadband Dial-up
Average Days per month per user 30 18
Average Pages per Usage Day 131 108
Average Minutes per Visitor 1,850 1,119
Average Pages per Visitor 3,882 1,921

They use “Radio”, “Movies”, and “Multimedia” more than dial-up users, but they use “Taxes”, “Shipping”, and “Classifieds” a lot more, too. A lot of the differences in their habits can be accounted for by their greater household incomes.

Broadband Visitors As % of Total Visitors
Total Internet 32%
Taxes 55%
Radio 52%
Shipping 52%
Car Rental 49%
Politics 49%
Classifieds 48%
Jewelry/Luxury Goods 48%
Movies 47%
Hotels/Resorts 47%
Weather 47%
Home Furnishings 47%
Consumer Goods 46%
Multimedia 46%
Online Gambling 46%
Comparison Shopping 45%

There’s little or no evidence in this study that broadband users are looking for broadband content. And once you account for the fact that they were probably heavier than average users when they had dial-up connections, it’s even unclear how much of their increased usage is due to their higher-speed connections.

It’s probably not a mistake to think that the one-third of US Internet usrs who have broadband will mind slow sites less than the two-thirds who have dial-up. But thinking that broadband users demand a new kind of Web is a mistake.

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