The OSS/BSS company Innovative Systems recently released its eleventh annual survey about rural household broadband usage. As usual, it contains a number of interesting insights. The survey was conducted in the first quarter of 2026 to consumers across the country.
Here are some of the most interesting findings about usage:
- 39% of rural households use broadband more than 10 hours per day. Only 7% use broadband for less than 3 hours per day.
- 46% of rural households have a family member who works at least part-time from home. 66% of those who work from home are under 35 years of age.
- 66% of those surveyed used some form of AI. The most common uses were personal chatbots, voice assistants (like Siri), smart home devices, customer service chatbots, or tools for creating or enhancing photos and images.
- 81% of those between 18-34 used an AI tool compared to 50% of those over 65.
- 97% of respondents use social media. 81% engage in web browsing. 81% use email. 79% stream entertainment. 70% pay their bills online. 35% access smart devices in the home. 33% play online multiplayer games.
The survey asked about how people interact with their ISP:
- The average respondent is paying $79 per month for broadband. 30% said they would pay more to get a faster speed. 15% said they would accept a slower speed and pay less.
- 51% of respondents use paperless billing. 42% use a mobile app to check their broadband account. 30% are bundling TV and broadband.
- Respondents said they would be interested in additional services from their ISP. 28% are interested in security cameras. 24% are interested in cybersecurity protection services. 18% are interested in TV services.
- 32% of subscribers don’t know the speed tier they are paying for.
- 14% buy speeds less than 100 Mbps. 36% buy speeds between 100-499 Mbps. 25% are buying speeds between 500 and 999 Mbps. 26% are subscribed to gigabit or faster speeds.
- Almost half of customers engage with their ISP using social media. Over half of customers prefer to be contacted by email or text.
- 19% of respondents have left a review online about their ISP.
The survey also asked about satisfaction with ISPs. Here are some of the key findings:
- 18% of those surveyed have changed ISPs in the last two years. 50% changed to get a lower price. 42% changed to get a faster speed. 42% were looking for better reliability.
- When asked for the factors that drive satisfaction with an ISP, the responses said good and consistent speeds (69%), fair price (66%), good customer service (52%), good technical support (37%). Of the lowest importance were the ability to bundle (27%) and the fact that the ISP is local (4%).
- 57% said they would consider buying broadband from their cellular provider as long as the broadband met their speed and reliability needs. This ranged from 66% of customers aged 18-34 and 44% for those older than 65.
- 43% said they would consider broadband from Amazon Leo if it is comparable in speed and reliability. This ranged from 50% of those 18-34 and 36% of those over 65.
Finally, the survey asked rural households about television viewing:
- 45% still get TV programming from a cable or satellite company.
- 33% get programming from an online streaming service.
- 15% only watch TV from an antenna.
- 16% don’t watch TV.
`The average respondent is paying $79 per month for broadband. 30% said `they would pay more to get a faster speed. 15% said they would accept a `slower speed and pay less.
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`32% of subscribers don’t know the speed tier they are paying for.
so yeah, why is there a government sponsored race to the bottom when consumers seem to be quite happy with a $79 price and 1/3 would pay more? And the vast majority of people rely on connectivity. Why would something you rely on so much be the cheapest ‘utility’ when we know that the outcomes are bad.
$50 internet makes for ISPs that can’t invest in the network. It forces investment to wait until the next government handout. The data is clear, the history is clear. We’re destroying a market just to make it worse in the coming years as investment and maintenance is neglected. $50 internet should be the value service that 15% wants. Regular services for most people should be in the $75-100 range, and premiums services help justify higher speed builds.
Yeah, what Daniel is saying is 100% true. This message needs to be beat all the way to the White House. It’s pure insanity.
We have subscribers paying $85 / month that tell me if we doubled our price they wouldn’t leave us. I would say that 85% or more of our subscribers have no idea what speed they are subscribed to. The majority of them don’t even know how to do a speedtest.
Here is a customer review from one of ours this morning. This is common, we get these almost every day “””Good morning Trendal, I’m sure Comcast or whoever wouldn’t make a house call and get me up and running like you guys! Thanks again!”””
AT&T recently did a small FTTH deployment in our area. Their door-to-door guy was calling us out by name saying AT&T would go $30 under any price we offer and he got the door closed on him at every. single. one. of our subscribers. We did not lose a single Wisp subscriber to them. And we’re selling 50 mbps download for $85 / month. AT&T offer is 300×300 for $55. Why? Reliable connections and customer service.
Our state is doing a big open access network build. Our area happens to be the unlucky first build area. Contractors are selected by lowest bid, ISP’s that do enter the market have no leverage other than price. Every dollar of profit has been pulled away, leaving only the bottom dollar ISP’s that will step in. It’s going to be a bloodbath for the customer. The ONLY people who will take green money away from this will be contractors, who are from out of area. It’s straight up financial murder for anybody local.
The government is destroying decades of innovation in this industry.