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Internet Use in Oregon: Survey Tallies Who has Access, Who Doesn’t and Who’s Not Happy

The study's findings are intriguing given the Portland area's coming fiber wars, as CenturyLink and Frontier boost Internet speeds in anticipation of Google Fiber's potential arrival -- possibly as soon as next year.

Internet access, an integral part of contemporary life, is almost universal in Oregon, according to a new study commissioned for the Oregon Broadband Advisory Council.

More than 80 percent of Oregonians have broadband access.

And overall, Oregonians are happy with the quality of their Internet service, its reliability and speed – though there is widespread discontent about the monthly costs.

The study's findings are intriguing given the Portland area's coming fiber wars, as CenturyLink and Frontier boost Internet speeds in anticipation of Google Fiber's potential arrival -- possibly as soon as next year. The emerging competition may improve service but it isn't pushing down prices (though Google Fiber does offer free connections at 5 megabits per second to customers who pay a $300 up-front installation fee.)

Oregon's study is based on a telephone survey by the Pivot Group. The study cost $153,000, funded with federal money funneled through the Public Utility Commission of Oregon.

It follows up on a 2010 survey and finds very little has changed in the past four years – Internet access has plateaued for most Oregonians, with around 90 percent of residents having access to the Internet, either at home, work or somewhere else convenient.

However, the study finds online access remains stubbornly out of reach for large numbers of people in certain segments of the population – the elderly, rural residents in Oregon's southern and eastern regions, and for Hispanics.

©2014 The Oregonian (Portland, Ore.)