Variance by Household Income

Household income remains one of the single strongest predictors of home access penetration and type of home Internet access, with penetration and the speed of connectivity rising sharply with household income [Table 7b].

• 59 per cent of the highest income households ($100K or more) have high-speed, with 11 per cent reporting they are without home access.
• By contrast, only 23 per cent of the lowest income households (less than $20K) have high-speed Internet access, with a majority 58 per cent having no home access at all.
• Despite lower penetration rates overall, high-speed access is making inroads in lower income households. In fact, it is interesting to note that a larger proportion of the lowest income households have a high-speed Internet connection (23 per cent) than a regular dial-up connection (17 per cent).

Variance by Household Type

Lending credence to “we have it for the kids”, two parent families with children are the single largest consumers of home access subscription services by household type [Table 7b].

• 80 per cent of two parent families with children have home Internet access.
• 46 per cent of two parent families with children are high-speed access subscribers, more than double the proportion of this household type that are without home Internet access (20 per cent).