This series examining the OECD broadband rankings has focused so far on methodology problems with the numbers.  But even despite the study’s flaws, there is a need to discuss the current state of broadband adoption and ways it can be increased.

Ensuring every American has access to broadband is a shared goal of industry and government.  Indeed, with the sheer volume of information available online, it is important for Americans to have access to this resource if they want it.

Statistics aside, everyone should have access to broadband

The Internet has dramatically changed the way we communicate and access news, entertainment, and information.  People who use the Internet every day for work or leisure may look fondly at days before we were so connected but never want to give up their access to this valuable medium.

The OECD stats, unfortunately, give people a reason not to explore some of the root issues related to broadband adoption (adoption, not deployment).  These rankings tempt people to focus on the state of availability rather than asking why consumers aren’t connecting to services that are already available.

However, like most consumer products and services, there are those who will simply resist the trend.  A Parks Associates study last year found that 29% of all U.S. households do not have any form of Internet access and do not intend to subscribe over the next 12 months.   That wasn’t really news, but the reasons cited were:

• 44% said they were not interested in anything on the Internet
• 17% were not sure how to use the Internet
• 14% stated that they have Internet access at work

Only 14% of this disinterested group cited cost of a computer as the reason and another 8% cited cost of HSI service.  Only 3% of the respondents claimed that HSI service was not available to their home.

Further, a Pew Internet & American Life Project  study estimates that approximately 15% of U.S. households still rely on dial-up service and nearly 60% of these dial-up users said they are not interested in switching to broadband.

Cable Internet service passes 92% of U.S. homes.  Throw in broadband via satellite and you’re nearing 100%.  Look at the Parks study again and consider that first number — 44% of offline Americans believe the Internet offers nothing of interest to them.  The Pew Study draws its own conclusions about the difficulty of growing this number.

Non-internet users do not have very positive attitudes about information technology.  Many report worries about information overload and few link information technology to greater control over their lives… Given that these non-users are people with worries about information technology and not a lot of extra disposable income, luring them online won’t be an easy task.

Another aspect that is largely ignored in this discussion is the simple truth that some consumers simply choose not to use the Internet.  There are still people in the US who have no phone service, and there are an estimated 13-20 million US households that rely solely on over-the-air broadcast TV.  As hard as this is for those who are connected to accept, there are simply a lot of people unconcerned with the consumption of mass media and telecommunications technology.

Nobody should be left behind

Disinterest in the Internet aside, however, these services should be readily available to anyone who wants access to them.  Connected Nation, a non-profit organization committed to increasing broadband adoption, is working to ensure both availability (by identifying and mapping areas that are unserved) and demand (by dispelling the idea that “nothing interesting is on the Internet”).

Connected Nation is supported by a growing number of states and major players in the telecommunications space and is trying to improve broadband access to unserved areas and get people connected.

The real state of broadband deployment

Using studies to misrepresent the current state of broadband availability and clamor for the government to either mandate deployment or simply jump into the broadband business is misguided.  As Pew noted:

With home broadband penetration poised to surpass 50% this year [Note: By our estimation it is now slightly greater than 50%], it will have taken 9 years from the time the service became widely available for residential high-speed service to reach half the population. To put this in context, it took 10 years for the compact disc player to reach 50% of consumers, 15 years for cell phones, and 18 years for color TV. Each of those technologies, like broadband, represented an upgrade from a good or service with which most consumers had experience.

Citizens in the US are adopting broadband at a rate almost unmatched in the history of technology.  Anyone who wants to get connected should be able to do so.

Connected Nation is working with states and Congress to gather data on broadband availability, so government resources can be focused on areas where citizens have no access at all.  Cable is working with them to achieve that goal.

We should not, however, rush to the government to insert itself in the marketplace when the metrics used to make the argument are questionable and the market is already growing at a fast pace. 

This entry was posted on Saturday, February 9th, 2008 at 10:17 am and is filed under Broadband, Tech Discussions. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.