One month before the FCC presents its National Broadband Plan, the FCC has released a consumer survey with the latest information on national broadband use and adoption. The survey offers information to provide a greater understanding of the reasons why some have not adopted broadband.
The survey reveals that 65% of Americans are broadband users at home – about the same figure the most recent Pew studies have shown. Among the lowest “adopters” are older adults, with only 35% of those 65+ having broadband at home. What I found most interesting, and a bit perplexing, about this latest survey was the reasons for not adopting broadband. Whereas previous surveys conducted by Pew found that consumers were not adopting broadband because they didn’t get the relevance or value broadband could offer to their daily life was the major reason for not adopting broadband, this survey reveals that cost issues are the leading issues, although not the major adoption barrier. Digital literacy and relevance concerns combined are still considered a barrier to broadband adoption by a majority of the respondents.
I find the cost issue interesting. While cost is identified by non-adopters as a barrier, many of these same consumers are spending significant dollars on other technology and electronics in their homes. 80% of broadband non-adopters have cable or satellite television service at home, 70% have cell phones and pay an average of $73 per month for the service, and 42% have at least one working computer at home. These respondents may cite cost as an issue, but aren’t they really saying that they actually haven’t discovered a real value in adopting broadband? They have determined that these other products have value, regardless of the cost (which are higher than a broadband subscription).
So, why not adopt broadband? I still think the issue is they have not recognized the tremendous value broadband service can offer. Of course, there are some consumers that can’t afford the cost, but for many non-adopters perhaps it’s more of a question of a cost-benefit analysis. They haven’t yet recognized the benefits, so perhaps they are unwilling to include the cost of broadband service in their budget.
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