Bay Area Residents Connected, According to New Poll
SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Bay Area residents continue to outpace the rest of the United States in
the adoption of high-speed internet connections at home, according to
results of the 2008 Bay Area Council Poll of 601 residents
released today. The Bay Area, as a region, is far ahead of the rest of
the country in broadband adoption at 76 percent, versus 47 percent of
the total U.S. population in 2007 according to the Pew Internet &
American Life Project.
Usage of dial-up is almost obsolete across the region. Only five years
ago, in 2003, 36 percent of residents reported having a modem connection
at home, while today only a mere three percent have this type of
connection.
Internet connectivity varied only slightly across the region. Overall,
80 percent of residents reported having internet access at home. Contra
Costa had the lowest number of internet connections at 71 percent, while
24 percent reported no connection at all. On the high end, 87 percent of
Alameda residents reported having internet at home with 8 percent having
no connection.
“The Bay Area continues to blaze the trail in
terms of broadband adoption in the United States,”
said Jim Wunderman the president and CEO of the Bay Area Council. “But
worldwide, our competitors are doing better. In an information-driven
economy, our global competitiveness depends on improving our broadband
infrastructure.”
According to World Economic Forum’s “The
Global Information Technology Report 2006-2007,”
the United States ranks only 7th in the world in its readiness for
adoption of information and communication technologies. A recent study
by the international Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development found that in terms of percentage of homes connected via
broadband, the United States ranks 24th, behind countries such as
Estonia. In addition, many other countries have broadband speeds that
are 10- or even 50-times faster than what is generally available in the
Bay Area.
The “Digital Divide”
was apparent in the Bay Area Council Poll results. While 93
percent of those with an income greater than $80,000 have internet
access at home, only 59 percent of respondents with an income lower than
$40,000 do so. Ninety-one percent of college graduates in the region
have an internet connection at home, while 51 percent that reported an
education level of high school or less were connected.
Political activism had some effect on internet connectivity though
political affiliation did not. While registered voters were more likely
to have an internet connection than those who were not registered (85
percent versus 65 percent), Democrats and Republicans were nearly
equally connected at 83 percent and 85 percent respectively.
About the Bay Area Poll
A total of 601 residents of the nine-county Bay Area were surveyed in
English and Spanish by Field Research Corporation during the period of
March 4-14, 2008. Survey respondents were selected using a random
probability sampling technique that gives all residents with telephones
(listed or not) an equal chance of being selected for the survey. The
sample was stratified to obtain representative samples in each of six
Bay Area regions: Alameda County, Contra Costa County, San Francisco
County, San Mateo County, Santa Clara County and the North Bay counties
of Marin, Napa, Solano and Sonoma. After the completion of interviewing,
the sample was weighted to conform to actual population estimates of the
nine-county Bay Area. Findings are subject to a sampling error of plus
or minus 4 percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level.
About the Bay Area Council
Founded in 1945, the Bay Area Council (www.bayareacouncil.org)
develops and drives regional public policy initiatives and researches
critical infrastructure issues. Led by CEOs, the Bay Area Council
presents a strong, united voice for hundreds of major employers
throughout the Bay Area region whom employ more than 500,000 workers, or
1 of every six private sector employees in the Bay Area.