The Benefits of Broadband, Part 3: E-Learning from emarketer

By Ben Macklin

"Someday, in the distant future, our grandchildren's grandchildren will develop a new equivalent of our classrooms. They will spend many hours in front of boxes with fires glowing within. May they have the wisdom to know the difference between light and knowledge. -- Plato

Plato was right on the money. The time he speaks of is now. The most popular activity conducted by internet users the world over is researching and accessing information from the internet. The internet is already the single largest information resource known to man, and it continues to grow every day. Apart from the potential revenue opportunities associated with e-education, lifelong learning and the effective distribution of information to a nation's population are important social and cultural aims for all countries.

At the aggregate level, US residents spend approximately $740 billion per year on education and training, according to Merrill Lynch. Widespread broadband adoption represents a significant opportunity for education, training and distance learning as it brings remote teachers and students closer together and provides educational institutions with an opportunity to simulate an actual classroom environment with a fully interactive multimedia experience. For those at home and those at work, broadband opens up a greater number of educational and training opportunities that may not be possible with a dial-up connection.

Online education is a market that is already a multi-million dollar business in the US. One of the leaders in this market, the University of Phoenix, has reported it expects revenue in 2002 to total over $280 million.

Merrill Lynch estimates that the e-learning sector in the US will be worth over $25 billion by 2003. They predict that corporate learning will generate $11.4 billion of this total.

International Data Corp. (IDC) correspondingly forecasts significant growth in the corporate market for e-learning, rising to $18 billion in 2005 from $2.3 billion in 2000.

Results from a study done by Sage Research indicate that continuing school education has the potential to be a $3 billion dollar industry. They asked respondents their willingness to pay $50 per college credit to receive multimedia education from accredited schools and 14.3% indicated they would pay for this service. Additionally, respondents indicated their willingness to spend $5 per month for unlimited access to multimedia encyclopedias, as well as cooking, language and music education.

Education is an investment for the future. If broadband can provide individuals and organizations with greater access to education, training and learning resources, then it not only makes sense for a household to invest in broadband, but it also makes sense for companies, communities and governments to invest in broadband infrastructure and services. According to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), one of the significant reasons why the demand for broadband is so high in South Korea is not only because South Koreans like to play multi-user games, but that a high-speed internet connection is regarded as an important family investment.

Ben Macklin is the author of the Benefits of Broadband Report, released this week. In Part 1, Macklin discussed "The Costs." In Part 2, Macklin tackled "Telecommuting." There are about 900 records in the eMarketer eStat Database for the term "broadband."

Ben Macklin is a Senior Analyst for eMarketer and the author of the Interactive TV: Reality & Opportunity Report, North America Online Report, Telecommunications Spending Report, the North American Wireless Report and The Broadband Report.

E-mail him at bmacklin@emarketer.com with comments, suggestions and questions.