Science/Tech
Fewer People Use Home Broadband Because it is Expensive, Says Study
More and more Americans are giving up their home broadband connection to use their cellphones to get online, said a survey. According to a recent study conducted by Pew Research Center, 67% Americans use high-speed internet at home as compared to 70% users two years back. This may be a small difference but statistically it makes a huge impact, said the researchers. They also noted that with this change, the number of smartphone users with no broadband service at home has gone up by 5%.
The study also points out that there are 80% U.S. adults who had access to the internet this year, whether through a home internet connection or by using a smartphone. However, in 2015, only a handful adults got internet services from their cable company or home phone because it is very costly. There has been a decline to 67% from 70% as per the survey conducted in 2013. However, at the same time the number of people that rely on their cellphones for internet increased to 13% from 8% last year, reported CNN.
The home broadband use has been affected due to Obama administration's push for greater access of the service and lack of competition amongst the service providers. John Horrigan of Pew said that the decline in the home internet use may just be temporary. Five years ago, the adoption of home based internet reached a static before it picked up again which the researchers blame to the aftermath of economic recession. Most of the cable service providers now have higher number of high-speed internet users than the TV subscription. If people stop using their broadband service, it could lead to another blow to the industry that is already suffering at the hands of cord-cutting trend, said NorthJersey.com.
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