Consumers Continue To Make Homes More High Tech.

New CTAM research indicates that three communication products are on nearly equal footing in American households – cable television (65%), cell phones (68%) and personal computers (67%) – with each in roughly two of three households. Online services are running a close forth, with 56% penetration, according to a survey of more than 1,000 U.S. adults.

The CTAM Pulse, Consumer Profiles: Changes in a High Tech World, examines changes in demographics and technographics, household penetration of various services, and product usage. Designed as a tool for industry marketers, this Pulse is an annual tracking study.

While cable television penetration has remained relatively steady in a competitive marketplace over recent years, digital cable is now in nearly a fifth (18%) of all homes. On the other hand, satellite penetration has doubled since 1997, up from 10% then to 20% today.

In other developments, the proliferation of personal computers and online services in the home continues. Since 2000, each has increased by 15 percentage points. Today, better than two in three (67%) of all households have a PC, compared to 52% in 2000. Similarly, home online penetration has grown from 41% in 2000 to 56% in 2002.

In addition, online users are moving to broadband. The percentage that reports accessing the Internet via a cable modem or Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) service has about doubled from last year. Today, 14% (up from 7% in 2001) of online users use cable modems and 7% (up from 3% last year) use DSL.

Online users are also satellite TV and digital cable customers. Twenty-one percent of online users report they have digital cable TV, compared to 15% in 2001. Satellite subscriptions among online users increased from 20% in 2001 to 24% this year.

For more information at http://www.ctam.com