Ampifying the notion that home internet service penetration is plateauing, about 84% of U.S. homes now get that service, up 1% from 2012’s levels, and up from 74% in 2007, Leichtman Research Group found in a new broadband-focused study.
However, “broadband”-class service (i.e., non dial-up) now accounts for 98% of homes with internet service at home, and 82% of all homes get a broadband internet service – that’s up from 76% in 2012, and 53% in 2007.
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Additionally, some 75% of adults access the internet on a smartphone, up from 44% in 2012, LRG found in the study – Broadband Internet in the U.S. 2017, which was based on a telephone survey of 1,203 U.S. homes. It is LRG’s 15th annual study on the topic.
Among other findings, LRG said 16% of homes only get internet service at home, down from 41% in 2012. And some 91% of all homes access the internet either at home and/or on a smartphone, up from 85% in 2012.
The study also found that 91% of homes with annual incomes of greater than $50,000 get broadband service at home, compared to 72% of homes with annual incomes of less than $50,000. About 85% of homes in the study use at least one laptop or desktop computer, and 93% of that group get an internet service at home.
“The percentage of households that have an Internet service at home is similar to what it was five years ago. Yet, increasingly the home Internet service is broadband, and it has also become more common for home Internet service to be paired with Internet service on a smartphone,” Bruce Leichtman, president and principal analyst for LRG, said in a statement. “Over two-thirds of households now get Internet service at home and on a smartphone.”
