Broadband: When a "Problem" Actually Isn't a Problem

Since broadband first became widely available to consumers in the late 1990s, adoption has hit the

halfway point faster than most other information and communication technologies, one easily can conclude. 

It took 18 years for the vpersonal computer to reach 50 percent of Americans, 18 years for color TV, 15 years for the cell phone, 14 years for the video cassette recorder, and 10.5 years for the compact disc player. 

It has taken about 10 years for broadband to reach 50 percent of adults in their homes.

The point is that, looking historically at the matter, there is not now, nor has there actually been, a "broadband adoption problem." One can quibble about costs, the rate at which speeds are increasing, traffic shaping or business models. 

But as a simple historical model, broadband was adopted faster than any other popular mass market service, ever.