Dial-up users don't want broadband
Older, slower, and the connection is bad too
A PEW INTERNET and American Life Project survey claims that dial-up users are often that way because they don't like broadband.
The study suggests that attitude rather than availability may be the key reason why more Americans have not splashed out on a decent connection.
Apparently only 14 per cent of dial-up users say they're stuck with dial-up because they can't get broadband.
The rest think broadband is too expensive while another 19 percent say nothing would persuade them to upgrade.
John Horrigan, the study's author said that it was important to convince people that broadband was worth having.
The survey confirms that rural Americans have more trouble getting faster Internet connections and most of them say they would get it if they could.
Pew found that just over half of American adults now have broadband access at home, up from 47 per cent a year earlier and 42 per cent in March 2007. Only 10 per cent of Americans now have dial-up access.
Broadband adoption has been flat among blacks and poorer Americans. µ
L'Inq
AP
Comments
Leave them!
Leave them on dial up for crying out loud! I for one do not want a 100x increase in virus sent spam because of providing broadband to the unwashed masses...Convincing
For lower-volume users, the financial side is still quite significant. My parents were shelling out about 3 quid a month on dial-up, and for their needs that was pretty compelling. It was only realising that it would speed up things like emailing photos (in fact that was the specific convincing factor) that tipped the balance to making it worth trebling their monthly outlay, tying into a contract etc. For many people, there will remain no such compelling reason, and "convincing" them to change from what is in fact the most suitable solution will essentially be pure and simple lying (or marketing, if you will).Need to convince?
Why is there a need to convince people they NEED to have broadband? Oh, wait, who sponsored this alleged "study"?If the broadband companies want to reach more people they should slash their pricing to increase the utilitarian value, otherwise, let them go suck eggs!
Touch Racist?
Is it just me or is The Inquirer inferring with the following statement :"Broadband adoption has been flat among blacks and poorer Americans."
that black people are poor?
False sense of security
Some actually believe that they are more secure with dial-up. I found one PC that was soaking it's dial-up connection with outbound attempts to hack other systems, and had to reload it to gain control.Seriously, some think that they can only get hacked through broadband.
Ought to be turned around
If they knew how to get value for their money, perhaps they wouldn't be so poor.It's all about updating
People with dialup-use patterns need broadband to keep their systems updated -- both the operating system and the malware defenses. I know of no one using dialup whose system isn't woefully out of date software-wise, to the risk of all of us. Dialup simply does not provide a fat enough pipe to allow systems to haul in the latest bits on a continual, reliable, and timely basis. (You might hit two out of three if the system were left on and everything were set to auto-update. But that's hardly a "value proposition" and in fact may wipe out any of dialup's billable costs.)i agree
Heck i can do 95 percent of what i need to do on my phone and its even slower than DUN 56k. I used to have verizon fios and it was nice having the speed, But that didnt make slow servers any faster. The only thing i cant do on my phone is post in the inquirer (HINT TO THE INQ!), and download files. Broadband needs to come down in prize to justify the expense for downloading emails. att has 14.99 for the basic dsl, but that doesnt justify the slow bradband speed.John Horrigan!
"John Horrigan, the study's author said that it was important to convince people that broadband was worth having."Bad John! Bad!
Affordable DSL Kicks Dial Up Rates Down
Affordable High Speed rates are Climbing again. If Your buying 50 Lines, Dial Up & DSL are about same $9.99/Mo (ea).AOL is $9.99 month, Full service Now & thats Pretty Good for depth of Service. Yet for Individual Home, DSL Has crept back to $20-$30 Level monthly.
Cable can be had for $20, yet $30 is More Likely & If bought alone at list nearly $60/Mo.
Come On, We individuals Don't even need 5 Mb/s, So Why Douse Oneself? However its Just Machine & theres NO Excuse For Rate Variation by Speed.
theINQ has Dial Up ad in SideBar, $7.99 Month, Sometimes JUNO Limited to 10 Hours FREE Monthly jumps to $4.99/Mo. for same deal. Its Jumping Jack Game that Changes bi annually.
drashek
Dial-up users have no difficulty updating...
icango, you need to check your facts:"I know of no one using dialup whose system isn't woefully out of date software-wise, to the risk of all of us."
Most critical/security updates are readily available to dial-up users. In my house, I have 3 PCs (2 XP, 1 Vista x64) that are up to date and current with all security patches and updates. Auto-update and the AV looks for updates once the systems connect to the internet.
Microsoft and most security vendors (ESET, Kaspersky, Symantec, etc..) have made great efforts to keep download sizes low, and trim the bloat. In the event of large patches (Service Packs, etc.) these can be downloaded without problem on a 56k connection. Mind you, it takes a while. SP2 (for XP) took 14 hours in my case, because I downloaded the off-line install.
The exceptions are Game patches, which take bloat to a new level (i.e.: Steam). Since dial-up users cannot play on-line with 98% of the games out there, it is not really a problem. Most of these patches are not "security" based; rather they address cheat exploits and bug fixes.
I can get high speed in my area (WiMax or Satellite), but these are ridiculously expensive ($300CDN+ to install + $40-120/mth for service. Compared to $12-24/mth for dialup). Though it takes time to load Flash happy web pages, AD/Content blockers can greatly increase the time to load a page.
Important lesson
It is important for John Horrigan, the study's author, to realise that dial-up users aren't going to be swayed by his opinion.I suppose if John Horrigan, the study's author, was selling teaspoons instead of Internet connections, he'd be snarling about people who just use the spoons that came with their cutlery set and how they need to be convinced to buy big posh carbon fibre teaspoons.
The Truth Is Racist
"Touch Racist?Is it just me or is The Inquirer inferring with the following statement :
"Broadband adoption has been flat among blacks and poorer Americans."
that black people are poor?"
I really don't understand your argument here.
You are implying that the truth is racist. It is not. It's simply the truth.
If you look at the advertising for various internet services here in the States, you'll see that the dial up services ARE targeted at blacks because they are poorer and can't afford broadband.
If you are going to market a less expensive and slower ISP, you want to market it to the correct demographic.
yawn . . .
Dial-up User, my facts are fine. First, they're based on a sample size of dozens and a wide swath of ages and skill levels. You need to get out and see what happens in the real world, how people *really* use their systems. Second, you can't infer the general from the specific -- especially when you yourself are the single sample and probably not even representative of the average (i.e. unskilled/uninformed) user. Logic won't allow it. So, the fact that you yourself are successful with updates via dialup doesn't imply that anyone else is. Or even cares to be. All it means is that . . . you yourself are.I stick by everything I've said; you've provided no refutation of any substance whatsoever. All you've said is, "This is what I do." And bloat it up with irrelevant factoids.
@ icango
@ icango...I agree that your numbers are a "little off".
I work for a College that just happens to have free dialup for staff and students who cannot afford high speed.
I'm the head laptop tech at the College and can assure you that at least 90% of our clients who use dialup and bring their laptops in for servicing have XP SP3/Vista SP1.. nothing horribly out of date at all!
Sure you may argue that since they are at College they are 1337 computer users, but no... many can't install printer drivers or that new game they bought, but they sure can let their computer automatically download windows updates...