Millions to Be Polled
3Com Corporation has announced the world's largest interactive Internet-based poll of millions of people will be held on November 15-18. Dubbed "The Planet Project - Your Voice, Your World", the survey will hold up a "digital mirror" for a glimpse of the human condition. The poll will give people around the world their first opportunity to share views and opinions and then instantly compare their responses with people of other nations, ages and sex. "The Planet Project is unprecedented in scale. It will bring together millions of people across geographic and cultural barriers," explained a spokesman. "One aspect of this project is to cast light on the issue of the 'digital divide,' which in some cases is influenced by geography and in others by socioeconomic factors. We want to highlight the importance of the problem, but we also want to make a contribution to solving it." As part of the Planet Project, 3Com will give $1 million in 3Com Learning Solutions to connect students in schools around the world.
news.planetproject.com
Internet Usage Growth Has Mixed Results
The Yankee Group reports that the rapid growth in PC-based consumer Internet usage in Western Europe--
expected to nearly double from 24 million households in 1999 to 45 million households by the end of 2001--has been a double-edged sword for European ISPs. While this acceleration in Internet usage has been spurred on by the availability of so-called "free", free-metered and un-metered access, it has come at the cost of long-term sustainable access revenue, and is now fueling rapid consolidation among consumer ISPs.
"Within most Western European countries, consumer take-up of Internet services is jumping at astounding levels, particularly in areas termed 'Internet poor' in the past, such as Spain and Italy," a spokesman said. "These countries are growing at a faster rate than Europe's more advanced Internet economies, such as Germany, Sweden, and the UK. But we are also seeing ISPs in these and all markets choosing to buy customers and revenue through acquisition as their access revenues suffer under competition from aggressive access pricing." As a result of the changing market, Yankee forecasts that revenues directly from fixed-line dial-up access in Western Europe will grow from $5.5 billion at the end of 1999 to just under $9 billion by 2003 from rising user numbers. However, by 2005, dial-up revenues will probably fall to just over $8 billion, and will continue to fall as broadband takes off and pricing for
high-speed access becomes more attractive.
Digital Divide Exists Despite Wide Internet Usage in U.S.
Fifty percent of U.S. households have Internet access, reports GartnerReseach. By 2005, however, Gartner projects that 75 percent of U.S. households will be connected. Despite a booming economy, lower cost PCs and phenomenal growth in the Internet, Gartner analysts say, there is still a strong digital divide in the United States. "Governments need to encourage business strategies that help to narrow the Digital Divide," a spokesman said. "Government policies such as tax credits for providing Internet access to employees and telecommuting can encourage businesses to provide low-cost Internet access for workers in their homes."
Gartner researchers cite a number of reasons for the divide, including:
- Access to the Internet in the home - While half of U.S. households have Internet access, the penetration rate differs drastically based on socioeconomic status, which is a combination of household income and education level. Currently, Gartner research shows that 35 percent of lowest socioeconomic status Americans have Internet access, compared to 53 percent in the lower-middle socioeconomic bracket, 79 percent in the upper-middle bracket and 83 percent in the highest socioeconomic bracket.
- The Broadband Divide - While Internet penetration is expected to surpass 75 percent of U.S. households by 2005, another digital divide emerges based on high-speed access via bandwidth. "We may finally master Internet access in every home, but a new digital divide will gape before us if broadband access costs an additional $40 per month per household," the spokesman explained. "This will be the equivalent of having the moderate and upper classes in IMAX theatres while the underprivileged are still watching silent movies."
- The Experience Divide - Once online, users have a ramp-up period of several months to several years,
according to Gartner, until they are fully realizing the benefits of the Internet. "If a 45-year-old person is learning how to read, he will not begin by reading Shakespeare," added another researcher. "Similarly, becoming wired and becoming Internet-proficient is a skill acquired over time with frequent use."
www.gartnergroup.com
ASP Hosting On the Rise
In another report from Gartner researchers, it's been determined that the worldwide ASP hosting market is likely to hit $2.5 billion by 2004. This figure is a substantial increase over the $360 million reported in 2000. ASP hosting accounts account for 10 percent of the total ASP market, which brought in $3.6 billion during 2000. The entire ASP market is expected to top $25.3 billion in 2004. "ASPs depend on reliable and high-performance networks to deliver their service to customers," an analyst explained. "This puts the Internet hosting players, whose core strength is network infrastructure, in a natural position to play a leading role in this market. The risk is low because hosting players can rely on conventional hosting revenues while building up ASP market share."