Growth Global growth of the Internet is having a substantial impact on business, research, education and society in general. In early 1996, 170 countries were connected to the Internet. By 2000, as many as 327 million people worldwide will have access to the Internet, through 96 million host computers. Internet revenue reached $37 billion by year-end 1997 and is expected to soar to $1.2 trillion by the year 2001. By the end of 1997, 43% of U.S. homes had a personal computer and 23% to 25% of all U.S. homes were online. During 1997 alone U.S. homes online increased by 54%. In the business arena, more than 37% of small businesses are online in the U.S. today representing 2.6 million companies, and that number is growing by more than 1 million per year. By the end of 1998, more than 50% of small businesses will be online. Electronic Commerce Of those online now, 50% are interested in online banking services, while more and more people are using the Internet to buy everything from books and CDs to computers and holidays. Online sales are climbing drastically with estimated sales by the year 2000 equaling 7% to 10% of all retail purchases. Work At Home The Internet is changing the way we work and enhancing life in Rural America through 'Work At Home' applications. Today more than 40 million Americans work at home with that number growing by more than 3 million people a year. One half of the 40 million people are self-employed while the other half work for an employer at a remote location and telecommute to work daily, allowing them to maintain a home and live in a community of their choice rather than in a larger metropolitan community where their employer is located. The HFC System And The Internet Most dial-up Internet connections today are limited to speeds of 33.6Kb or less. Although other applications can offer up to 56Kb of bandwidth (speed), costs increase in a relative manner for the end-user. Cable modems and xDSL technologies can offer from 64Kb upwards of 10Mb of high-speed communications; in other words, up to 300 times faster than traditional dial-up. In a practical sense, Internet speeds are today limited by the network capacity of the Internet Service Provider resulting in speeds of 1.5 Mbps or 46 times faster than current connections. Multiple Benefits The Internet is changing the way Americans and others around the globe live, work and play. The Internet's impact is enhancing the quality of life, supporting economic development and providing another source of local revenue on the Hybrid Fiber Coax (HFC) system. Sources: Killen and Associates, NUA Internet Surveys, American Home Business Association, Vint Cerf
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