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CNET News.com - Harris Interactive Poll Finds Tough Road Ahead for a National Broadband Network

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 26, 2004--Presidential campaign proposals by both Bush and Kerry to build a national broadband network may be more difficult to sell to the American public than expected, according to the results of a national survey released today by CNET News.com (www.news.com) and Harris Interactive(R). According to the poll, while 72 percent of adult Americans who have Internet access support government efforts to make high-speed Internet access universally available, the majority of Americans balk at the question of who pays, and how much. The poll is part of an exclusive special report that was posted this morning on CNET News.com (http://news.com.com/2100-1034-5273082.html).
While most respondents (78% responding "6" or higher on a 10-point scale) agree that it is important for the average American to have access of any kind to the Internet, they oppose any government plan to directly subsidize the extension of broadband access to rural areas where the cost of service is higher, or for low-income citizens by a margin of 56 to 44 percent. Similarly, more than two-thirds (70%) are against paying higher access fees to fund the expansion of broadband to those areas.

Blair Levin, a telecommunications analyst at financial firm Legg Mason Wood Walker who is quoted in today's article commented, "People are in favor of many things, until you put price tags on them. Just as most folks in Washington want to have their cake and eat it, too, why should consumers thinking about broadband be any different?"

"While both presidential candidates back the idea of universal broadband access, the challenge will be coming up with a proposal that works for the American people, who have shown here that they are largely opposed to paying for it," said Charles Cooper executive editor of CNET News.com.

Party affiliation among respondents was split between a third (33%) of poll respondents identifying themselves as Democrat and 34 percent as Republican, while the rest consisted of independents (25%) and fringe parties (7%).

Other noteworthy findings among all adults surveyed include:

-- 61 percent are concerned about security and privacy issues when on a broadband connection.

-- 53 percent say the overall cost of the service is a more important factor in choosing among Internet access alternatives than the connection speed.

-- 63 percent spends the same amount of time watching television as it spent before getting a broadband connection, compared with 34 percent who spend fewer hours in front of the tube (or flat screen).

-- 63 percent is spending more time online now than when logged on to the Internet via a dial-up connection.

-- 65 percent has engaged in more uploading and downloading of work-related information since getting a broadband connection.

-- 7 percent have had a broadband connection for more than five years.

Methodology

This survey was conducted online within the United States between June 22 and 30, 2004 among a nationwide cross section of 1000 adults, aged 18 and over, all of whom have Internet access and of whom 507 currently have broadband access. Figures for age, education, race/ethnicity, income, region and Internet use per week were weighted to align them with actual proportions in the population. In theory, with probability samples of this size, it is reasonable to say with 95 percent certainty that the results have a sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points of what they would be if the entire U.S. adult online population had been polled with complete accuracy. This online sample was not a probability sample.

About CNET News.com

Based in San Francisco, with offices in Boston, New York, and Washington, and correspondents throughout Asia and Europe, CNET News.com, a property of CNET Networks, Inc. (Nasdaq:CNET) (www.cnetnetworks.com), is known for its real-time journalism and its ability to dissect pivotal trends before others have spotted them. The site has won dozens of national honors, including awards from the Society of Professional Journalists, National Press Club, and the Society of American Business Editors and Writers. CNET News.com's technology stories are widely syndicated to organizations including The New York Times, BusinessWeek, San Francisco Chronicle, Boston Globe, and Toronto Globe & Mail.

About Harris Interactive(R)

Harris Interactive (www.harrisinteractive.com) is a worldwide market research and consulting firm best known for The Harris Poll(R), and for pioneering the Internet method to conduct scientifically accurate market research. Headquartered in Rochester, New York, Harris Interactive combines proprietary methodologies and technology with expertise in predictive, custom and strategic research. The Company conducts international research from its U.S. offices and through wholly owned subsidiaries-London-based HI Europe (www.hieurope.com), Paris-based Novatris and Tokyo-based Harris Interactive Japan-as well as through the Harris Interactive Global Network of independent market- and opinion-research firms.

Contacts


CNET Networks Inc.
Sarah Winterhalder, 415-344-2218
Sarah.winterhalder@cnet.com
or
Harris Interactive
Nancy Wong, 585-214-7316
nwong@harrisinteractive.com

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