MYNORTHWEST NEWS

Survey: Nearly all of us have access to high speed Internet

Jan 22, 2013, 3:54 PM | Updated: 4:56 pm

A new report say almost 99 percent of Washington residents live in areas where broadband is availab...

A new report say almost 99 percent of Washington residents live in areas where broadband is available and 83 percent of the state population lives in households with Internet access. (AP file)

(AP file)

More and more of us are taking advantage of high speed Internet, and access to wired or wireless broadband is improving in Washington, according to the latest state survey.

The public and private sectors get credit for improving Washington’s standing to 10th in the nation for access to 3 Mbps bandwidth.

“In the last year, we’ve seen an increase in the number of subscribers, we’ve seen an increase in our ranking nationally in terms of the percentage of the population that has access to broadband services, we’re climbing and doing a good deal better,” said Will Saunders, director of the Broadband Office at the state Department of Commerce.

The report also shows that almost 99 percent of Washington residents live in areas where broadband is available and 83 percent of the state population lives in households with Internet access.

“I think we need to apply it to helping people find jobs in the digital economy, grow their businesses in this country and outside this country and allow Washington to continue to be a leader on innovation,” said Saunders.

The annual broadband report shows gross income in Washington from shopping on-line topped $3 billion in 2011.

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Survey: Nearly all of us have access to high speed Internet