70% of Americans Now Have High-Speed Internet at Home

One of the main stumbling blocks for online video has been the reliability of connection.

The speed at which people can access content has left many users frustrated by loading and buffering times, however, new research has found the problem could soon be a thing of the past in the US.

Some 70 per cent of Americans have high-speed internet connections at home, while only three per cent are using dial-up to get online, according to the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project.

The study found the percentage of high-speed users represented a significant rise from the 66 per cent of adults who said they had home broadband in April 2012.

In total, 85 per cent of Americans use the internet and of those who lack a high-speed connection at home, ten per cent have smartphones that can get online.

This is good news for digital content creators as people will be able to access it at home or on the go using a range of devices.

Broadcasters have quickly recognised the importance of online content to either complement or replace the traditional process, which is beamed to television sets.

It is now the consumer who is in control of the content. Formerly, television companies would dictate when programming would be watched but this has changed and people now demand their video services on demand and on the go.

For this reason companies are offering their content in a TV everywhereformat or through over-the-top services, such as Netflix. Both of these platforms have proven popular with customers and will likely rise more so as internet connections improve.

Many users watch video in standard definition format due to the current state of their internet, but as things improve they will move to high definition, another reason for firms to offer the service as part of its offerings.

It is also vital for eCommerce publishing businesses to have an online payment service in order to give customers a quick and easy method of subscribing. Operating online allows companies to build up a database of clients and analyse their behaviour, which can help tailor deals that would suit them best.