Internet use rose dramatically in the six months between August 1995 and March 1996, while users' median incomes and educational levels dropped somewhat, according to a study released last week by Nielsen Media Research.
The long-awaited followup to an earlier survey, conducted by Nielsen for CommerceNet last year, indicated a 50% jump in Internet usage, from about 24 million users to about 36 million.
About 2,800 of the 4,200 participants in last year's study were contacted again for this one. The nature of a recontact study necessarily limits the projectability of its results, according to Paul Lindstrom, vice president of Nielsen Media Research. But Lindstrom nonetheless indicated that the extrapolation from the study was a logical one.
'It's a very good indication of the movement and the type of growth that's occurring,' says Lindstrom, 'and it helps illustrate why things are occurring.'
The increased activity, he says, is a direct result of the growth of commercial online services targeting in-home users, as opposed to the workplace or academia.
The expanded user base also suggests a changing profile: 39% of new Internet users have college degrees, compared with 56% of those who said they were 'Net surfers in the original study. In addition, the percentage of new 'Net users living in households with incomes of $80,000 dropped from 27% in Nielsen's '95 survey to 17%.
Nielsen found that 24% of respondents in the recontact survey have Internet access, representing a 50% increase from the first survey. Of those, 17% had used the Internet in the six months before March, compared with the 10% who had used it in the three months prior to August '95.
Some analysts considered Nielsen's 1995 numbers high, and believe the current estimate to be similarly aggressive. But measuring Internet usage is a new business, and evaluation is problematic. 'Pick whatever number you want. No one really knows for sure,' says Andrea Williams, research analyst for San Francisco-based Volpe, Welty. '[Nielsen] seems a bit high, but it seems possible.'
The April estimate of the household Internet~using universe from PC Meter, whose site usage numbers are widely relied upon, is 11 million.
Also significant among Nielson's findings was the increased online time among those who were already using the Internet when polled last year. Among that group, 47% had surfed the 'Net 24 hours before being contacted, compared with 21% of newer users. Normally, according to Lindstrom, new media use among early adoptors tends to drop off, and newer users tend to be more active.
Nielsen's next Internet survey-intended to establish projectable estimates--is slated to begin in September.
TW's Road Runner modem service takes off for Ohio
Road Runner, Time Warner Cable's high-speed PC modem service, is headed for the MSO's northeast Ohio system on Sept. 10.
Formerly dubbed LineRunner, it will be marketed to a universe of 300,000 subscribers in the Akron and Canton metro areas for about $40 per month. That will include rental of a Motorola Cybersurfr modem, Internet access and access to localized Road Runner content, says Bill Jasso, vice president of public affairs for Time Warner Cable's Northeast Ohio division. The daily Akron Beacon Journal and the Canton Repository will provide local information, and subscribers also will have e-mail capability and their own home pages.
Installation charges will range from $75 to $225, which includes the cost of a PC Ethernet card. Current cable subs are likely to get discounts on modem service.
Time Warner relaunches high-speed cable modem service in its Elmira, N.Y., system later this month, when the Motorola boxes will be introduced to the 35,000-subscriber system, according to a Time Warner Cable spokesperson. Elmira had been a testbed for Time Warner, with Zenith modems in use among 200 subs. The service also will be introduced this month in Time Warner's 12,000-sub system in Corning, N.Y.
Road Runner will be marketed with two-tiered pricing in Elmira, with a $24.95 monthly fee for use of the modem and unlimited access to a customized Pathfinder service with local news and information, and national, international and financial news. Internet access will be available for $9.95 per month.
Pathfinder is Time Warner's branded Internet service to be offered this fall for a monthly subscriber fee yet to be determined. It essentially consists of electronic editions of Time Inc. publications such as Time, Sports Illustrated and Money.
Next stops for RoadRunner are Time Warner's Portland, Me., 57,000-subscriber system by year's end, and its 165,000-subscriber San Diego system early next year.--RT
