Broadband accounted for more than half of all Net connections in the US in January, according to the latest figures from Nielsen/NetRatings.

Broadband users logged a whopping 1.19 billion hours online in January – an increase of 64 per cent on the year before.

In contrast, narrowband time online fell by 3 per cent to 1.14 billion hours.

According to Nielsen, this proves that broadband has "hit [the] mainstream" and signals the "unstoppable march towards broadband".

Said Jarvis Mak of NetRatings: "Broadband surfers spend as much time online as narrowband surfers and also comprise a growing proportion of the overall online population. The growth and development of broadband will create a more interactive and robust online experience, impacting ecommerce, streaming media and overall Internet content."

One in five of US home Net users (22 million) access the Web using a broadband, said NetRatings. ®