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Home links to Net slip
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May 8, 2001: 7:22 a.m. ET
Death of free services cuts homes with Net access: report
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - The number of U.S. homes with access to the Internet slipped in the first quarter for the first time, a published report said Tuesday.
USA Today, citing a study from Telecommunications Reports International, said that the number of the nation's homes with Internet access fell 0.3 percent to 68.5 million in the quarter. The report blamed most of the drop on the death of several free Internet service providers (ISPs). But it also suggested that the market is close to its maturity level, with growth slowing in every category.
Besides the loss of free ISPs, the report cited sluggish 2 percent growth in households using high-speed digital subscriber lines (DSL) to 2.4 million households. That follows 80 percent growth in the use of DSL in the fourth quarter.
The report cited slow installations, higher prices and the closure of NorthPoint Communications, a DSL provider.
But the report also said that the number of households paying for Internet access still rose in the quarter, up 8 percent to 49.6 million, while cable-modem use climbed 18 percent to 4.9 million households. 
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