At the end of 2004, there were 500,000 satellite or terrestrial wireless high-speed Internet connections in service. While this number is small compared with the 13.8 million asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL) high-speed lines, it represents an increase of 50 percent over the number of wireless connections in 2003. This 50 percent growth rate is higher than the over-all increase of 34 percent in high-speed lines serving all subscribers and the 45 percent increase in ADSL high-speed lines.
The criteria for calling an Internet connection "high-speed" are delivery of service at speeds exceeding 200 kilobits per second (kpbs) in at least one direction.
For more information, see the FCC News Release Federal Communications Commission Releases Data on High-Speed Services for Internet Access or the complete report, High-Speed Services for Internet Access: Status as of Dec. 31, 2004. The full report includes the news release and additional data, including a map showing the number of providers offering high-speed Internet access in different locations. It does not, however, provide much additional detail on wireless connections.
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