Barriers to broadband adoption: Cost is now a substantial challenge for many non-users

For the 33% of Americans who do not currently have broadband service at home, financial concerns – the monthly cost of a broadband subscription most prominently, but also the cost of a computer – loom large as barriers to non-adoption. At the same time, for many non-broadband users who own a smartphone, the functionality of these mobile devices makes traditional broadband a lesser priority. Still, other non-adopters indicate that they have options for online service outside their home, or that suitable broadband service is hard to get in their area. Most non-users point toward multiple reasons for why they do not have high-speed service at home.

The typical (median) non-broadband user cites two reasons for not subscribing to home broadband service, while 43% list three reasons or more. In some form, cost is the chief reason that non-adopters cite when permitted to identify more than one reason they do not have a home high-speed subscription. Overall, 66% of non-adopters point toward either the monthly service fee or the cost of the computer as a barrier to adoption. When presented with a follow-up question asking them to identify the most important reason they do not have a home broadband subscription, non-adopters are again more likely to cite the monthly cost of broadband service than any other reason. Smartphone users differ in that the capability of their smartphone rivals the monthly cost of broadband as the main reason they go without service. Price sensitivity – the sense that the monthly fee is too much – is a larger concern for non-adopters who are more likely to recognize the importance of a home high-speed connection.