Canada is well ahead of the U.S. in adoption of high-speed broadband Internet connection according to Toronto-based Solutions Research Group (SRG). The company’s latest study found that while Canada lags slightly behind the U.S. in pickup of wireless and HDTV technologies, this country is two years ahead of the curve when it comes to broadband.
Kaan Yigit, SRGstudy director, explains this could be attributed to geographic and socio-economic factors as well as the heritage and priority differences of cable and telephone companies in Canada compared to the U.S.
Among the highlights of the SRG study:
* 63% of Canadian households are now on the Internet (49% broadband, 14% dial-up). In comparison, 57% of American households are on the Internet (34% broadband, 23% dial-up).
* Cable firms are slightly ahead of telephone companies as the leading choice for broadband Internet in both Canada and the U.S.
* The percentage of Canadian homes with broadband Internet grew rapidly between 2003 and 2005 – from 31% in 2003 to 40% in 2004 to the current level of 49% in 2005.
* The number of broadband Internet homes in Canada now exceeds the number of digital TV homes (i.e., homes with digital cable or satellite TV), while the reverse is true in the U.S.
* Internet activities that require high bandwidth are more popular in Canada, especially among younger age groups. 25% of Canadian Internet users in the 12-29 age group have downloaded a full-length movie or a 30- or 60-minute TV show off the Internet in the past, compared to 16% of American Internet users in the same age group.
SRG collected the Canadian market information for the study via telephone interviews with 1,776 Canadians 12+ in May and June 2005 as part of Fast Forward, its ongoing consumer trend research program. The U.S. market information was gathered through a random national telephone survey of 1,062 Americans 12+ conducted in May and June 2005 for its Digital Life America research program.
