Thanks to the growth of LTE and WiFi broadband trends point toward wireless and mobility, but the vast majority of U.S. consumers take a broadband service at home, a new study shows.
Leichtman Research Group said 79% of U.S. homes now get a broadband Internet service that is delivered to the home, up from just 20% in 2004.
Broadband also accounts for 95% of all households with Internet service at home, up from 94% in 2013, 89% in 2009, and 33% in 2004.
The mean reported time spent online at home per day has also risen – to 2.8 hours among all individuals online at home, up from 2.2 hours per day in 2009, LRG found in its 12th study on the topic.
And usage skews younger – those ages 18-34 spend, on average, 3.3 hours per day online at home, versus 2.8 hours per day among those ages 35-54, and 2.1 hours per day among ages 55 and above.
LRG found that for the first time ever in this study, the 18-34 age group overall reports spending more time per day online at home than time spent watching TV.
“The percentage of US households with a computer, and the percentage of households that get an online service at home, have leveled off over the past few years, while broadband continues to grow at a modest pace,” said Bruce Leichtman, LRG’s president and principal analyst, in a statement. “Along with more people accessing a broadband Internet service at home than ever before, more time is also being spent online at home.”
LRG’s study also discovered that 63% of U.S. adults access the Internet on a smartphone, up from 44% in 2012, and 59% get Internet service at home and on a smartphone, up from 42% in 2012.
Among other findings:
-2% of households paid to subscribe to Internet service at home in the past year, do not currently subscribe, and do not plan to subscribe again in the next six months
-41% of households with annual incomes <$30,000 do not use a laptop or desktop computer at home – compared to 9% with incomes >$30,000.
-2% of all households have an iPad or tablet, but do not use a desktop or laptop computer.
LRG’s latest study – part of the firm’s Broadband Internet Access & Services in the Home 2014 report -- was based on a telephone survey of 1,261 households.
