Connect Michigan: UP Broadband Adoption Lags
Connect Michigan has released new data on broadband access and adoption in Michigan's Upper Peninsula Thursday in conjunction with a visit by President Barack Obama to Marquette to tout his national wireless broadband initiative.
Connect Michigan's 2010 Business Technology Assessment results show the technology adoption and use of broadband service among Michigan businesses.
To view the entire set of UP broadband fact sheets, visit http://connectmi.org/research/Upper_Peninsula_Broadband.php.
The highlights -- or in some cases lowlights -- are as follows:
* Just 48 percent of UP homes subscribe to broadband service, vs. 67 percent for the state as a whole.
* Some 75 percent of UP homes have a computer, vs. 82 percent for the state as a whole.
* Some 15 percent of UP residents subscribe to mobile wireless via laptop or a mobile device, vs. 25 percent for the entire state.
* 75.5 percent of households in Michigan's Upper Peninsula have access to broadband at advertised speeds of 6 megabits per second or better, but 20,229 households in the UP have no access to broadband at all -- and no households can subscribe to broadband at speeds greater than 10 Mbps.
Connect Michigan is a subsidiary of Connected Nation and operates as a nonprofit in the state of Michigan. The Michigan Public Service Commission is leading the initiative to increase broadband Internet access throughout Michigan. Connect Michigan was commissioned by the governor's office to work with all broadband providers in the state of Michigan to create detailed maps of broadband coverage in order to accurately pinpoint remaining gaps in broadband availability in Michigan.
Jessica Ditto, director of communications for Connected Nation, said the availability of broadband in the UP is "not as bad as one would expect" considering how rural and remote the area is, but "remains a frustrating challenge for those who can't get it." She said adoption of that available broadband may be lagging because of "a lack of awareness of the benefits of broadband. We're thrilled to see this national initiative and the attention focused on broadband because it's going to underscore the benefits of broadband."
For an area like the UP, she said, those benefits involve "living in a beautiful, though remote, area but still being connected to the rest of the world .. being able to market your business to the world, and being able to offer your kids a state of the art education."
More at www.connectmi.org.
