Fewer than half of Puerto Rico residents access the Internet

Fewer than half of Puerto Rico residents have access to the Internet, according to this week’s CARIBBEAN BUSINESS/WOSO Radio/Gaither International poll. Survey results are an excerpt of Gaither International’s newest syndicated study, the MBP (Media Brand Profiles), based on a comprehensive sample of 3,798 face-to-face interviews conducted during the months of October and November 2011.

Despite great efforts from carriers and telecom companies, survey findings still put Internet penetration at less than half the population. In fact, 46% of Puerto Ricans ages 13 or older have access to the Internet, translating into about 1.4 million people.

“Not surprisingly, younger demographics are significantly more likely to log online. MBP study results show 87% of respondents ages 13 to 17 have access to the Internet,” noted Beatriz Castro, vice president of Gaither International.

However, Internet usage drops to 74% for users 18 to 34, and drops to 49% among users 35 to 54 who have Internet access. “At a glance, older respondents don’t seem to have embraced the use of the Internet and new technologies as much as their younger counterparts. A mere 13% of those ages 55 and older access the web regularly, a number that significantly decreases the older the person,” the Gaither analyst continued.

Young developer Manuel Leizán, president of Mar Atlántico Construction, said: “Young professionals use [the Internet] not only for socializing but also in their day-to-day jobs, from submitting project bids to evaluating construction designs and doing cost-containment analysis, as is the case with our company, which is dedicated to customized commercial and residential development.”

James Ferré, vice president of investment firm Brim Inc., added: “Lack of Internet penetration among [local] residents, however, limits the spread of technology within society, maintaining Puerto Rico’s wide-open digital divide with the rest of the online world. Our fastest-growing population segment is seniors, which by definition tend to take longer to embrace new technologies. As a result, this could delay the proliferation of the latest technology applications, new software and telecom products from coming to the market, simply because there isn’t a large consumer base accessing Internet on a regular basis. Still, this is far better than only 10 years ago when only a fraction of the population had Internet access.”

Other characteristics, such as education and income, also play a key role in whether Puerto Ricans have Internet access or not. The Gaither media brand profile notes that only 39% of those with low-reported incomes have online access, compared to half of those with mid-reported incomes, and 64% of those with high-reported incomes.
Furthermore, while 67% of those with a college education have online access, the same is the case for only 43% of high-school graduates and 19% of those who didn’t finish high school, Gaither’s Castro added. “It is interesting to note that still, less than two-thirds of those with high-reported incomes and those who graduated from college are accessing the web.”

How do Puerto Ricans access the Internet?

Weekly poll results also note that only 31% of Puerto Rican households actually pay for Internet access at home. “However, in an era driven by mobile technology and wireless access, it is safe to assume that many are logging online from different spots,” Ferré added.

In fact, survey respondents were asked, “Where do you frequently access the Internet?” While “at home” seems to be the No. 1 location for 58% of respondents, a significant 37% seem to be logging on directly from their mobile phones.

“We expect this tendency of logging in ‘on-the-go’ from smartphones to continually increase, as smartphone access spreads across demographics and becomes available to the general population,” Gaither’s Castro concluded.

The survey also notes that one in 10 (10%) respondents regularly access the Internet from a relative or friend’s house. Five percent (5%) do so from work, while 4% access the Internet from libraries and/or school. Only 1% said they frequently log in through a hot spot.

For more information at http://www.caribbeanbusinesspr.com