A survey commissioned by the state found that more than 20% of households with access to broadband Internet service chose not to subscribe in 2013, mostly because they said high-speed access was of no value to them.
The Portland Press Herald reported the survey, commissioned by the ConnectME Authority and conducted by James W. Sewall Co., found that 96.6% of Maine households had access to connections of up to 3 megabits per second in 2013. That’s up from 55% two years earlier.
Of those with access, the survey found that around 75% subscribedto high-speed Internet service in 2013.
Charles Lawton, chief economist for the Maine-based consulting company Planning Decisions Inc., told the newspaper that a low broadband adoption rate is a barrier to economic growth in the state.
The survey included around 2,500 households, 370 businesses, 500 health care organizations and 900 schools and libraries.
