Location of usage varies significantly by non-user subgroup:

• 94 per cent of seniors, who have used the Internet in the past three months, did so from home, with few going online from any other location.
• 77 per cent of lowest income (less than $20K) users have used the Internet at home, 7 per cent at work and 15 per cent from a public access site. By contrast, 89 per cent of highest income ($100K or more) Internet users did so at home, 56 per cent at work, 1 per cent using public access sites.
• Labourers are the least likely of employed Internet users to use the Internet at work at 3 per cent. 89 per cent used the Internet at home in the past three months and 16 per cent went online from a public access site.
• 79 per cent of late-adopter Internet users with less than one year of experience online used the Internet at home, 14 per cent at work and 4 per cent at public access sites. This compares to 89 per cent, 49 per cent and 3 per cent of experienced users who have been online for six years or more.

Perceived Importance of Household Internet Access

The perceived importance of household Internet access continues to rise. Overall, 76 per cent of Canadians view household Internet access as “highly important” (36 per cent, 5 to 6 on a 7-point scale) to “essential” (30 per cent, 7 on a 7-point scale), up from 49 per cent in 1998. Perceived importance, however, varies across key subgroups:

• With 43 per cent indicating household access is “highly important” to “essential”, seniors are the least likely age group attribute high importance to household access. However, this number rises to 81 per cent for those seniors who have used the Internet in the past three months.
• Similarly, lowest income Canadians (less than $20K) are less likely to view household access as “highly important” to “essential” at 49 per cent. This number jumps to 75 per cent for those lowest income Canadians who have used the Internet in the past three months.
• Indicative of the connection between home access and Internet usage, though they are less likely to report recent usage, labourers are significantly more likely to believe household access is “essential” (39 per cent).