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U.S. Internet Surfers Still Sticking with Dialup

Red Herring reports that by the end of 2005, the number of Americans with home broadband finally eclipsed the number using dialup to get online, according to the Yankee Group. But despite the best efforts of cable Internet and DSL purveyors at wooing potential subscribers, there are a lot of dialup users still out there.

The U.S. home broadband population added 10.5 million people to its ranks in 2005, hitting 40.1 million users. The dialup population slipped nearly 18 percent over the same period, to 36.9 million. By the end of 2009, Yankee estimates the number of broadband users in the U.S. will hit 65.7 million, while the dialup population will shrink to just under 20 million.

Dialup users aren�t shedding their slower connections more quickly for a variety of reasons. But 45.5 percent of participants in a recent survey said they weren�t switching to broadband because it was too expensive. Nearly 31 percent said they simply didn�t want a faster connection. More than 12 percent said they felt there was a lack of pricing options.

Pricing schemes might move beyond temporary promotions soon, however, if AT&T�s recent decision to slash prices on its DSL service can initiate a price war among service providers.

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