FCC: High-speed connections up in 2004

The number of high-speed Internet connections increased by 15 percent in the first half of 2004, according to a report by the Federal Communications Commission. The FCC survey, released last month, says that homes and businesses with speedy connections increased from 28.2 million to 32.5 million lines during the six-month period ending in June 2004.

DSL connections grew by 20 percent during that time, at a faster pace than cable modem subscriptions, which increased by 13 percent. California had the most high-speed lines, and Wyoming had the least. The FCC adopts a broad definition of high-speed links, counting any connection with speeds of at least 200kbps in either direction.