UTOPIA subscriber survey: High-speed internet betters lives

The Utah Telecommunications Open Infrastructure Agency has released data from a survey of broadband subscribers. As Americans continue to work remotely and increasingly depend on high-speed internet for everyday tasks, the significance of its impact has been measured in the survey. According to the UTOPIA survey, consumers equate connectivity with a better quality of life, as seen in the following data: 

• Among respondents, 85.44% said that access to UTOPIA Fiber has improved their quality of life with 95.78% saying that internet speed was either “extremely important” (64.94%) or “very important” (27.7%), 43% of respondents choosing 1 Gbps or higher.
• Approximately 2,500 UTOPIA Fiber subscribers, age 19 and older, were polled in 16 Utah cities. Respondents live in cities as small as Woodland Hills, with a population of 1,500 residents to the second largest city in Utah, West Valley City, which has a population of over 136,000.
• According to the “Customer Feedback Survey” results, respondents reported they used the internet in their home for smartphones (97.18%), desktop computers (73.51%), laptops (90.73%), tablets (78.48%, smart TVs (82.38%), along with smart appliances (57.76%), and home security (52.59%).
• About 44% of UTOPIA Fiber customers shared that they invested in at least 1 Gigabit per second (Gbps), with 37.14% using at least 250Mbps.
• The correlation between the need for speed and today’s work-from-home business climate is apparent as the survey reports that 65.47% of people work from home with 69.13% dependent on the internet for video calls, emails (92.73%), and research (61.54%).
• Satellite service fell to 10.19%, from 17.67% in 2021, and cable subscribers accounted for 3.61% of households, down from 3.63% last year while 91.22% of respondents use the Internet for streaming TV or movies.
• Over 90% of respondents also said that the reliability of the UTOPIA Fiber network was either “extremely important” (62.51%) or “very important” (29.19%) to them, and a deciding factor in taking their service over incumbent carriers.

“Numbers don’t lie. Americans who have access to high-speed Internet have vastly better lives than those who lack connectivity,” said Kimberly McKinley, Deputy Director and Chief Marketing Officer of UTOPIA Fiber. McKinley notes that, given the choice, consumers will always opt for faster, more reliable fiber broadband for their daily activities.