In our December 2005 survey, the median broadband user did three online activities on a given day (out of a list of ten) compared to one for the median dial-up user.⁶ This is indicative of how a high-speed internet connection pulls people to broader engagement with the internet. Within the group of broadband users, however, some are more engaged with the internet than others.

This section examines the news-gathering behavior of broadband users with the closest relationship with the internet, as measured by the number of online activities they do on an average day and the frequency with which they log on. These high-powered broadband users are defined as those who do four or more of the ten activities on a given day. They are more likely to log onto the internet several times a day than other broadband users (by a 78% to 37% margin). Additionally, they make up a substantial portion of home broadband users—about 40%—or approximately 29 million people.

Why focus on this high-powered segment of broadband internet users? First, it might offer a glimpse of future behavior in the general population. To the extent that these users are trailblazers—and the fact that they have been online longer (than other broadband users and much longer than dial-up users) suggests they may be—later-comers may mirror their behavior. The growth of broadband penetration in recent years and future upgrades in network speeds are other reasons to think these users may hold clues to future behavior.

Second, these users are elite in ways separate and apart from connection speed. They are better educated (49% have college degrees or more compared with 36% of other broadband users and the 27% national average) and high-income. Fully 46% of elite high-speed users live in households with income over $75,000 annually compared with 32% of other broadband users and 21% for all respondents.