10 Nov Key Findings from the 2023 NECTA Innovation Index
What is happening with young people and cord-cutting in New England? Do New Englanders fear cyberattacks? What does AI mean for the region and the world? Are consumers happy with their cable and broadband service? Learn the answers to these questions and more in the 2023 Innovation Index, an annual survey sponsored by the New England Connectivity and Telecommunications Association (NECTA).
The NECTA Innovation Index identifies industry trends, measures consumer attitudes, and generates data on technology and consumer attitudes in New England.
Key findings from the 2023 NECTA Innovation Index include:
Customer satisfaction remains high within the cable and broadband industries. Nearly 90% of New Englanders are satisfied with both ISPs and cable provided video service. Three quarters of subscribers are satisfied with the reliability and variety of programming offered from their video service, and over three quarters of subscribers are satisfied with the reliability, speed, connection quality and bandwidth of their ISP.
Younger customers appear to be returning to cable – perhaps a result of high net costs from a multitude of streaming service subscriptions. A majority of subscribers under 45 have at one point cancelled their cable subscription but have since returned to paid cable or satellite video service.
Noticeable improvements in broadband speed, quality, and reliability. New England customers have noticed improvements in speed, connection quality, reliability and bandwidth over the last few years. In fact, NCTA reports an average 260% increase in speeds due to investment in next-gen networks. 89% of homes now have gigabit speed available to them.
Internet service is accessible in New England. 82% of New Englanders say that it is easy to get broadband service at their residence, including 73% of rural residents. The number of respondents indicating that they have difficulty accessing fast, reliable internet service at their residence due to a lack of providers in their area has decreased by 6% over the past year.
Awareness of broadband affordability programs increases. New England’s broadband providers are working to get the word out to low-income residents about reduced cost internet options. Awareness of ALL affordability programs has increased over the past year.
Private ISPs are delivering cybersecurity to New England. Nearly two-thirds of New England customers believe that their private ISP is doing a good job of protecting them from cyberattacks and keeping them safe online. Only 7% report poor performance on this metric. Nearly three-fourths say that they are satisfied with the overall security of their home internet service as well.
Government owned and managed networks are NOT a voter priority.There are many other issues and improvements voters prefer to spend tax money on, such as physical infrastructure, a more resilient energy grid and updating public schools. A majority of New England voters also trust networks run by private ISPs more than ones run by municipal government for use in their homes.
The online n=2000 sample survey of New England voters who are also broadband or cable consumers was fielded from 10/11/2023 to 10/31/2023 and has a margin of error of +/- 2.2%. The sample mirrors up-to-date consumer and voter representation in New England to ensure an accurate depiction of public sentiment. The 2023 NECTA Innovation Index was conducted by Seven Letter Insight.