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The AP reports that a new Pew Internet and American Life Project survey of American Internet use (PDF format) shows a variety of reasons why 62% of current dial-up users aren't switching to broadband. The big three:
The remainder (39%) don't know or cite other reasons (multiple responses add up to over 100%).
Of the 35% of American households who aren't online, about a third have no interest in getting online, and about 20% are former online users. "Older and lower-income Americans are most likely to be offline." What will it take to get more broadband use? It's not a simple answer.
If you work for a broadband ISP, the results of this survey make for an interesting comparison with current marketing campaigns. Most broadband ISPs are marketing bundle savings, and many offer a range of broadband speeds at different prices, but if this survey is accurate, a majority of current dial-up users won't be swayed. What's even more interesting is what's been happening to broadband and dial-up pricing.
Compared to late 2005, broadband users are now paying about 4% less per month, while dial up users are now paying about 9% more.
Even if the most common types of broadband (cable and DSL) become more widely available, about 20% of users say they won't switch. However, rural dial-up users are much more likely to want broadband than urban or suburban dial-up users. This is ironic because of the much greater difficulties in making low-cost broadband available to rural users.
Although satellite Internet or fixed wireless broadband services are used by 10% of urban and suburban users, rising to 16% for rural users, the survey suggests that most potential broadband users who cite lack of availability don't know about satellite or fixed wireless service. Companies providing these services have a large untapped market.
The Online Activities section of the report (PDF pages 26-28) provides a detailed breakdown of what Internet users are doing. As you can imagine, broadband users perform every task listed, from downloading podcasts to reading blogs, at a much higher rate than dial-up users.
One reason that many users are not yet connected at home was not taken into account by the survey: the widespread availability of broadband-class computers at schools and libraries.
While some computers in these locations are dedicated to looking up items from the library's collection, many of them can be used free of charge or for a nominal fee for Internet access by library card holders. When free access like this is taken into account, the notion of a "digital divide" between users and non-users at home might not be as dire as some suggest.
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hogkill
July 08, 2008 at 5:58am
Yeah u'd be amazed at how many people dont have access to internet while everyone else takes it for granted. I wasnt able to get highspeed at my house until a year ago using a radio modem that connects to a cellphone tower 10km away, and right now it's not working very well. Its better in the winter time when there are less leaves in the way. Do u have any idea how lame it is to be waiting for winter time to come so you can start fragging people?
