2.3: Computer, Internet and Broadband Adoption Statistics

In June 2005, NeoNET, the North Eastern Ontario Communications Network, published its findings from a survey [19] on computer and Internet adoption in Northern Ontario. The results are really quite extraordinary, as they clearly show Northern Ontario has embraced computers and the Internet significantly more than the rest of the country. Household computer penetration rates are 10% higher than the national average, and household Internet penetration rates are at 76%, an astounding 21% higher than the national average. Businesses in Northern Ontario have about an 8% higher Internet penetration rate, while 9% more Northern Ontario businesses have web sites, and 9% more businesses shop for inventory online. One shocking statistic is that a full 23% of Northern Ontario businesses with web sites sell their goods or services online. This is more than triple the national average of 7%. These statistics are illustrated in Figures 2 and 3.

Figure 2: Computer and Internet Use in Northern Ontario [19]

Figure 3: Residential Broadband Penetration in Northern Ontario [19]

Despite these residents of small cities, villages, and rural areas being so technologically adept and despite the Internet being such an important part of day-to-day business in Northern Ontario, broadband Internet penetration is significantly lower in this area of the country. The national average for residential broadband penetration is 69% while the Northern Ontario average is 52%. The national average for business broadband penetration is 75% while the Northern Ontario average is 55%. Of the 47% of Internet-connected households on dial-up, 62% of them don't have it because it's unavailable in their area, 15% think it's too expensive, and 17% simply aren't interested.

Clearly there is a high demand for broadband in Northern Ontario, and the same can probably be said for other rural areas of Canada. If those 15% of users who think broadband is too expensive can be shown that it is actually quite affordable, the percentage of dial-up users who would switch to broadband increases to 77%. This means that if 76% of households in a community are on the Internet by dial-up and 77% of them would switch to broadband, 58% of the households in your average Northern Ontario community would sign up for broadband right away if it were made available for the first time. An uptake rate this high would no doubt be very attractive to an Internet provider. The problem is that the cost to run a fibre pipeline to these under-served communities and the cost to deploy a traditional last-mile network to an area with a low population density makes such a deployment unprofitable.

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© Jake Cormier, 2006 [jake (at) stormcloudstudios.com]
Completed as a partial requirement for the degree of Bachelor of Science (specialized)
Department of Computer Science :: Algoma University College :: Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario :: Spring 2006