That leaves about 105 million households. That makes the potential universe for high-speed data services in the U.S. about 52.5 million homes. There s still a long way to go. Digital video also experienced a banner year, played out in a bombastic duel between cable and direct broadcast satellite entities DirecTV and EchoStar. Combined, cable and DBS ended the year with about 21 million customers, or nearly 20 percent of U.S. homes.
Cable telephony remains a mixed bag.
Some said they re waiting for IP telephony, likely a 2002 reality. Others, like Time Warner, said they re not yet convinced that they want to become telephony providers, and particularly not lifeline telephony providers. In penetration, based on a total U.S. footprint of 68.1 million basic subscribers, cable nearly hit the five percent mark by the end of the millennium. The middle months of the year were tough on cable s sprint for high-speed data dominance. Supply issues resolved themselves by the latter months of the year.