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Internet Broadband Users Reached 194.6 Million People Worldwide in 2005
Residential Broadband Users, Frequent Internet Users and Total Users

May 18, 2006

eMarketer has confirmed that the world reached a milestone late in 2005 as Internet access became available to one billion people worldwide, with approximately 845 million using it regularly.

"The US is the single country with the largest Internet population with 175.4 million Internet users at the end of 2005, followed by China at 111 million," says Ben Macklin, eMarketer Senior Analyst and author of the report. "Despite China's continuing strong Internet growth, eMarketer expects the US to maintain its lead over China, at least until the end of the decade."

Broadband access also continues to grow and to account for an ever–larger percentage of total Internet access. "At the end of 2005 there were 195 million broadband households worldwide, up from 142 million in 2004, an increase of 37%," says Mr. Macklin. "Despite a maturing broadband sector in Western Europe, North America and some parts of Asia, the large populations of China, India, Russia, Turkey, Brazil, and Mexico, all of which which saw strong broadband growth in 2005, will ensure that global broadband subscriber growth remains in double digits for many years to come."

INTERNET USERS AND BROADBAND USAGE IN SELECT COUNTRIES AND WORLD REGIONS IN 2005 (millions)
Region	Broadband	Frequent Users	Total Users
Asia - Pacific	77.6	315.4	382.1
Europe	55.2	233.3	291.6
USA	43.7	175.4	205.3
China	34.1	111.0	119.0
Latin America	7.3	60.5	75.7
Canada	6.5	18.5	21.9
Worldwide	194.6	845.4	1,022.9
Sources: eMarketer, May 2006, Nielsen NetRatings, and Internet World Stats, March 2006. Notes: (1) Frequent user is an individual aged 3+ who accesses the Internet at least once per month. (2) Broadband comprises residential households only, with broadband connection.

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