High speed internet in Oregon households: Improved access and increased uptake between 2019 and 2021

Introduction: Reliable high-speed Internet access is critical to information access and economic participation, but gaps in access persist in rural states like Oregon. Objectives: This project aims to identify the proportion of Oregon households who lack high-speed Internet access at home, investigate the reasons why some households still do not have access, and explore how these reasons have changed between 2019 and 2021. Methods: Using Tableau Desktop (version 2022.4), this project visualizes the proportion of Oregon households with high-speed Internet access in 2019 and 2021, the main reasons that some households do not use the Internet at home, and how those reasons have changed over time. Results: Internet use, availability, and affordability all showed an increase between 2019 and 2021. Affordability remains the second most important reason why households do not subscribe to high-speed Internet, but lack of interest is the top reason. Availability of high-speed Internet increased over the study period. Conclusions: Investments in broadband infrastructure are having the intended result, bringing high-speed Internet services to more households in Oregon. However, barriers persist, particularly around affordability.

引言：可靠的高速互联网接入对于信息获取与经济参与至关重要，但俄勒冈州等乡村地区仍存在数字接入鸿沟。研究目标：本项目旨在明确俄勒冈州家中未配备高速互联网的家庭占比，探究部分家庭仍无法接入家用高速互联网的原因，并剖析2019年至2021年间这些原因的变化趋势。研究方法：本项目借助Tableau Desktop（2022.4版本），可视化呈现了2019年与2021年俄勒冈州拥有高速互联网接入的家庭占比、部分家庭未使用家用互联网的主要原因，以及这些原因随时间的演变情况。研究结果：2019年至2021年间，互联网使用率、接入可用性与可负担性均有所提升。可负担性仍是家庭未订购高速互联网服务的第二大核心诱因，但缺乏使用意愿已成为首要原因。研究期内，高速互联网的接入可用性有所提升。研究结论：宽带基础设施投资已取得预期成效，为俄勒冈州更多家庭提供了高速互联网服务。但各类接入障碍仍未消除，尤以可负担性层面的问题最为突出。