The 1995 Vermonter Poll Report: Use of Computers and Telecommunications Equipment

General Findings
A series of questions was asked of Vermonters concerning their use of computers and electronic telecommunications services. As advances in communications and computing technology encourage the use of the Internet and other online services, many rural residents are beginning to increase their access to educational, economic, and service resources.

Some significant trends were identified for Vermont, including:

An increase in households having home computers from 42.8% in 1993 to 50.3% in 1995.
An increase in modem use for households with computers from 35.2% in 1993 to 49.6% in 1995.
An increase in the use of Internet or other service providers, from 50.0% of home computer users with modems in 1993 to 57.4% in 1995.

Computer Use at Home
The ownership and use of computers in Vermont households has grown in the last three years of the survey (Table 1). In 1995, 50.3% of households reported owning a personal computer, compared to 48.3% in 1994 and 42.8% in 1993. However, growth in household ownership of computers has slowed slightly from an increase of 5.5% from 1993 to 1994 to 2% from 1994 to 1995.

Table 1.  Percent of Vermont Households with a Personal Computer

"Do you or does someone in your household have a personal computer at home?"


		1993	1994	1995

Yes		42.8	48.3	50.3
No		57.0	51.5	49.5
Don't Know     	  .2	 0.0	  .1


Source: 1995 Vermonter Poll, Center for Rural Studies, University of Vermont.

Telecommunications Modems

1995 saw a sharp increase in household ownership of PC modems (Table 2). In 1995, 49.6% of PC's had modems attached to them, compared to 34.5% in 1994. Comparatively, there was little change in modem ownership between 1993 and 1994. This growth may reflect the interest generated in online resources and the simultaneous explosion of information available through online services, especially the World Wide Web.

Table 2.  Percent of Personal Computers in Vermont Households
with Telecommunications Modems

"Is there a telecommunications modem with this computer?"
  (Referring to question in Table 1)	


		1993	1994	1995

Yes		35.2	34.5	49.6
No		60.6	63.4	46.1
Don't Know   	 4.2	 2.1	 4.3


Source: 1995 Vermonter Poll, Center for Rural Studies,
University of Vermont.

Telecommunication Services
Respondents to the 1994 and 1995 surveys who reported using home computers and communications modems were asked what type of on-line service they accessed (Table 3). In 1995, the largest number of respondents (57.4%) used their modems to access commercial services such as America On-Line, Compuserve, or a local Internet service provider. This reflects a 7.4% increase in access over 1994. University or school access stayed roughly the same at approximately 15%, and other services saw decreases in access. Vermont Automated Library System (VALS) and Local Bulletin Board systems both showed a decrease in access from 1994 to 1995.

Table 3.  Percent of Vermont Household with PC Modems Using  Online Services,
by Type of Service

"Which, if any of the following online services do you access from home?"	


					1994	1995

Vermont Automated Library System	 8.8	 6.8
University/School System		15.0	15.3
Other Commercial Internet 
 Access Provider (such as America
 On-Line, Compuserve, Prodigy, Delphi)	50.0	57.4
Local Bulletin Board System		17.5	14.2
None of the Above			 2.5	 5.7
Don't Access Any Services		15.0	12.5
 with this modem
Don't Know			 	11.3     6.3


Source: 1995 Vermonter Poll, Center for Rural Studies,
University of Vermont.

We also asked respondents with modems who did not access any services why they did not access services. For the 24.5 percent of respondents in this category, a lack of interest or perceived benefit was the biggest reason. Other reasons included: cost; the respondents used work access; they didn't know; they did not have time; or they were self-described computer illiterates.

Finally, we asked those individuals who owned computers and used dial-up services what they did once they were on-line (Table 4). Electronic Mail was most popular, with 47.2% of respondents indicating use. World Wide Web or graphical data services were used by 27.3% of the respondents, compared to Gopher or text-based data services, which were used by 16% of the respondents. With the increase in data transmission speeds over modems, graphical information is within the grasp of more users.

Table 4.  Percent of Vermont Households with PC Modems
Using General Telecommunication Services, by Type of Service

"Do you use these services to access:"	
	
Electronic Mail			47.2
Gopher Services			16.0
World Wide Web Services		27.3
None of the Above		27.3


Source: 1995 Vermonter Poll, Center for Rural Studies,
University of Vermont.