Broadband will be one of the crucial technologies behind the next phase of the information revolution. Yet, its growth seems to have stalled. The truth is that we're about to see the convergence of several trends that will accelerate broadband adoption — which will finally enable it to fulfill its enormous potential.

Let's examine the facts and implications related to this trend.

As reported in McKinsey Quarterly, 2003, Number 2, broadband is the fastest-growing consumer technology in history, in some markets. Penetration will reach 25 percent in the United States faster than PCs or mobile phones did.

Broadband has continued its growth even during the periods when telecom and the Internet itself were suffering downturns. Now, more than 100 million people around the world have access to broadband, presenting unprecedented business opportunities for innovators.

The difference in a user's experience between a dial-up service like America On-line and DSL is dramatic. Consumers who click on a Web site with a 56k modem often wait minutes for the most basic graphics to load, which is the equivalent of waiting for a Polaroid photo to slowly develop. Broadband users can jump from site to site in seconds, which is equivalent to switching channels on a television.

We can often see into the global technological future by looking to Japan and South Korea. As reported in "Broadband Boom" in the April 14, 2003 issue of Business Week, fans in Japan recently watched a World Cup final in a virtual stadium featuring a screen almost as big as the real playing field: 40 by 100 meters in size. It was made possible by combining an amazingly fast optical network, with digital projectors and high-definition television.

Penetration of such technologies has been remarkable in Japan and South Korea. Two thirds of the households in South Korea have broadband now, while in the U.S. penetration is only at 15 percent, largely because of cost. Japanese broadband is only $18 per month and in Korea it is $25, compared with an average of $50 per month in the U.S.

Speed is another factor. South Korean broadband runs at three megabits per second, or twice as fast as that in the United States. Forty percent of Japanese homes will be running on 12-megabit-per-second broadband connections by 2004.

Part of the reason for the gap is that the South Korean and ...