The number of people with access to broadband connectivity at work will more than double from 24 million in 2000 to 55 million by 2005, according to a report released by Jupiter Research. The company's analysts warned, however, that companies offering broadband applications to the at-work audience will continue to face constraints even as overall corporate broadband penetration rates increase.
Although the projected increase in at-work broadband access means a much larger audience and greater appeal to advertisers, employees with access to broadband are not a panacea. Jupiter foresees some enduring technology-related constraints because the average connectivity speed of individual users on shared networks will remain roughly equivalent to today. Companies deploying broadband content and applications must tailor their offerings to fit the time of day and usage constraints that affect at-work audience behaviour patterns. This means short-form content, unobtrusive applications and programs that will appeal to the at-work multi-tasker.