NEW YORK — Two in five Internet users in the United States now have high-speed access at home as telephone companies slash prices to better compete with cable broadband services.

In a report Sunday, the Pew Internet and American Life Project placed the adult residential broadband population at 48 million, or one-quarter of all adult Americans.

Among college-educated adults age 35 and younger, penetration has reached 52 percent.

Most growth has been since November from connections over souped-up phone lines called DSL, which now make up 42 percent of the home broadband market, up from 28 percent in March 2003. Cable modems still have the lead, with a market share of 54 percent, but they no longer enjoy a 2-to-1 edge.

The increase counters Pew's findings from last spring suggesting that the broadband market had begun to stabilize. That study found fewer Internet veterans wishing to upgrade their dial-up lines. But broadband fees have dropped since then, with DSL available in some markets late last year for just a few dollars more than dial-up.