It's true. Few people were interested in playing their games online because of their slow 56k internet connections. The fact that Everquest, launched in 99, managed to pull the number's it did, when online gaming and especially MMOs were still in their infancy; is nothing short of amazing.

2003-2005 is when the broadband became widely available. I didn't get my cable internet connection until some late 2003. I remember when my cable company announced they were installing the proper lines in our area to run broadband, I counted the days.