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Link MBS completes broadband study and presents findings
On October 9, 2003, the Link MBS task
force held a final conference to present the findings of its study on
broadband availability in the Midland, Bay and Saginaw County area.
Saginaw Future spearheaded the Link MBS study, which
was part of a statewide effort to assess broadband capability and
marketplace demand, as well as to develop strategies for positioning
the tri-county region for growth in today’s high-tech economy.
The Link MBS study was conducted by a Lansing-based
technology and consulting firm, Control Room Technology. Their
findings include the following key points about Internet availability
and usage among the region’s residents and businesses:
1. Broadband availability in the MBS region is one of
the highest in the nation
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86 percent of MBS residents have
high-speed Internet connections available in their homes.
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40 percent of MBS residential
Internet users have high-speed connections to the Internet — this is
30 percent higher than the national average.
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60 percent of MBS residents use the Internet on a daily basis.
2. Businesses in the region are highly
Internet savvy:
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83 percent of businesses used the Internet for e-mail on a daily
basis.
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81 percent of business respondents have a Web site.
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65 percent of businesses use some form of high-speed Internet
connection.
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Over 50 percent of businesses with an Internet connection have all
of their computers connected.
With this information, tri-county
business and community leaders continue to work on creative ways of
leveraging the area’s Internet infrastructure and knowledge base.
To learn more about the
tri-county broadband study, please visit the Link MBS website at
www.linkmbs.org. |
