27 Jan Key Findings from the 2025 NECTA Innovation Index
Overview
The NECTA Innovation Index is a yearly tracking survey that identifies industry trends, measures consumer attitudes, and generates data to inform NECTA members and policymakers in their decision making. Now in its fourth year, the Index delivers crucial insights into the connectivity and telecommunications industries, including consumer broadband usage and public opinion on key issues such as broadband access, security, municipally owned networks, video services, emerging technologies, and public policy priorities. The 2025 results underscore a clear theme: New England consumers increasingly recognize that the region’s private broadband providers are meeting their needs through continued investment and innovation in a rapidly evolving technological environment.
Key findings from the 2025 NECTA Innovation Index include:
- Customer satisfaction with broadband and video service remains exceptionally high and continues to improve. More than nine in ten New Englanders report being satisfied with their broadband service, with growing shares expressing intense satisfaction across reliability, speed, connection quality, and bandwidth. Reliability remains consumers’ top priority, and satisfaction on this measure increased again in 2025. Satisfaction with cable and streaming video services also remains strong, with solid majorities satisfied with video service quality and reliability. Together, these results reinforce that both connectivity and video services are meeting consumer expectations for the essentials of entertainment, communication, and daily life.
- Affordability satisfaction has increased, even as cost of living concerns remain high. Despite ongoing economic pressure, satisfaction with affordability rose again in 2025 across both broadband and video services. Nearly six in ten New Englanders are satisfied with broadband affordability, and more than half are satisfied with the affordability of cable and video services, representing meaningful gains over last year. These increases suggest that consumers are recognizing provider efforts to deliver greater value, improved service, and expanded access while helping households manage rising everyday costs.
- Access to broadband is improving and competition is increasing across the region. Fewer New Englanders report having access to only one internet service provider at their residence compared to last year, indicating increased competition and choice. Perceived ease of access to fast, reliable broadband has improved across much of the region, particularly in Rhode Island and Vermont. These findings reinforce that lack of access is no longer the dominant barrier for most consumers.
- Cord-cutting has slowed again, as consumers increasingly seek simpler, consolidated video options. The pace of cord cutting slowed in 2025, continuing a trend observed in the prior year and reinforcing signs of stabilization in how consumers approach video services. While streaming remains widespread, a large majority of New Englanders say that one stop shopping for video services is important, including overwhelmingagreement among younger adults. These findings suggest growing fatigue with fragmented platforms and rising subscription costs and point to increased interest in bundled or simplified video experiences.
- AI use continues to rise rapidly, and consumers are balancing optimism with concern as integration accelerates. Nearly two thirds of New Englanders now report using AI tools such as ChatGPT or Google Gemini, reflecting strong growth since both 2024 and 2023 and signaling that AI is becoming a mainstream part of how people work, learn, and access information. While consumers are optimistic about AI’s potential, many also recognize new risks as adoption expands, increasing the importance of strong cyber protections as AI becomes more embedded in everyday digital experiences.
- Consumers express strong confidence in broadband providers’ ability to keep them secure online. Even as concern about cyber threats remains elevated, a clear majority of New Englanders believe their internet service provider does a good job protecting them from cyberattacks. This confidence has remained steady over the past several years and underscores the role providers play in safeguarding consumers’ data and maintaining secure, reliable networks as digital dependence continues to grow.
- Municipal broadband networks remain a low priority for voters. Support for municipally owned broadband networks declined again in 2025 across all partisan groups. Consumers overwhelmingly prefer private ISPs for home use and believe tax dollars are better spent on other priorities such as infrastructure and energy resilience. These findings reinforce long standing skepticism toward government owned networks in New England.
Methodology
The 2025 NECTA Innovation Index is based on a mixed methodology survey using online and randomized text to web of 2,001 New England voters who are also broadband or cable consumers. The survey was fielded from October 16 to October 29, 2025, and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.2 percent. The study was conducted by Seven Letter Insight and is weighted to reflect up to date voter and consumer demographics across New England.