UTOPIA FIBER’S 2022 CUSTOMER FEEDBACK SURVEY REVEALS THAT “INTERNET IS LIFE” FOR CONSUMERS.

WITH MORE AMERICANS WORKING FROM HOME, RESPONDENTS OVERWHELMINGLY RELY ON HIGH-SPEED INTERNET FOR DAILY NEEDS.

Company Notes Consumer Happiness with Municipalities that Make Investment that brings Fiber to the Home.

(Murray, Utah—October 25, 2022) As Americans continue to work remotely and increasingly depend on high-speed Internet for everyday tasks, the significance of its impact has been measured in a recent survey of broadband subscribers released today by UTOPIA Fiber, the nation’s largest Open Access fiber Internet network, which reveals that consumers equate connectivity with a better quality of life.

Approximately 2,500 UTOPIA Fiber subscribers, ages 19+ were polled in sixteen Utah cities. The sampling size was from cities as small as Woodland Hills with a population of 1,500 residents to the second largest city in Utah, West Valley City, with a population of over 136,000.

According to the “Customer Feedback Survey” results, respondents reported they used the Internet in their home for smartphones (97.18%), desktop computers (73.51%), laptops (90.73%), tablets (78.48%, smart TVs (82.38%), along with smart appliances (57.76%), and home security (52.59%).

With a national average internet speed in 2022 of 119.03 Mbps (Megabits per second), today’s remote workforce is hungry for faster Internet speed. Forty-four percent of UTOPIA Fiber customers shared that they invested in at least 1 Gigabit per second (Gbps), with 37.14% using at least 250Mbps. The correlation between the need for speed and today’s work-from-home business climate is apparent as the survey reports that 65.47% work from home with 69.13% dependent on the Internet for video calls, e-mails (92.73%), and research (61.54%). 

Additionally, 91.22% of respondents use the Internet for streaming TV or movies, using some services such as Disney+, YouTube TV, and Apple TV+ that didn’t even several years ago. However, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, and Hulu were highest in terms of subscriber usage. Significantly, satellite service fell to 10.19% (from 17.67% in 2021) and cable subscribers accounted for 3.61% in households (down slightly from 3.63% last year).

“Numbers don’t lie. Americans who have access to high-speed Internet have vastly better lives than those who lack connectivity,” remarks Kimberly McKinley, Deputy Director and Chief Marketing Officer of UTOPIA Fiber, who regularly notes that given the choice, consumers will always opt for faster, more reliable fiber broadband for their daily activities. “The big takeaway here is that Internet is life, and either you have it, or you don’t. Consumers also shared that their communities were better places to live now (76.02%) because municipalities made the wise decision to invest in fiber and allow every home and business the same equitable opportunities and services at a very reasonable and fair price.”

Among respondents, 85.44% said that access to UTOPIA Fiber has improved their quality of life with 95.78% saying that Internet speed was either “extremely important” (64.94%) or “very important” (27.7%) with 43% of respondents choosing 1 Gbps or higher. UTOPIA Fiber offers Internet speeds ranging from 250 Mbps to 10 Gbps, the fastest speeds in the nation. Over 90% (91.7%) of respondents also said that the reliability of the UTOPIA Fiber network was either “extremely important” (62.51%) or “very important” (29.19%) to them, and a deciding factor in taking their service over incumbent carriers.

“While we were happy to see that 66% of respondents said they would recommend UTOPIA Fiber to a friend or colleague, we were more elated to know that 95% approved of our interaction and partnerships with the municipalities we are invested in, and that 71.29% either “strongly agreed” or “agreed” (19.4%) with the statement “I am glad my city invested in UTOPIA Fiber.”