Javascript is not enabled.

Javascript must be enabled to use this site. Please enable Javascript in your browser and try again.

Skip to content
Content starts here
CLOSE ×
Search
Leaving AARP.org Website

You are now leaving AARP.org and going to a website that is not operated by AARP. A different privacy policy and terms of service will apply.

More than four in 10 (45%) Utah voters who live in rural areas say that access to high-speed internet is a problem in their local community, compared to just 37% of nonrural voters.

spinner image Utah State Capitol Buidling

The types of home internet connections reported by rural internet users contrast sharply with the types of connections reported by nonrural users. While 61% of nonrural home internet users have a cable or fiber-optic internet connection, just 38% of rural home internet users claim the same. Rural home internet users are more likely than nonrural users to rely on satellite (15% rural vs. 4% nonrural) or fixed wireless (9% vs. 5%), or to say that cellular service is their only method of accessing the internet at home (7% vs. 3%).

Overall, close to eight in 10 (79%) home internet users say that they do not have a fiber-optic home internet connection, which is generally the fastest type of internet service. When asked to indicate their major reasons for not having fiber, almost half (47%) cite lack of availability. Rural internet users without fiber at home are more likely than their nonrural counterparts to cite lack of availability (67% vs 43%).

Home internet users living in rural areas (45%) are also more likely than those who live in nonrural areas (36%) to say that bad weather causes problems with their internet service, which may be a reflection of rural users’ greater reliance on connection types that can be susceptible to weather-related interference such as satellite and fixed wireless.

Methodology

The AARP telephone survey was conducted among 1,388 registered voters ages 50-plus in Utah. Forty percent of the interviews were completed on a mobile phone. The survey was administered by Alan Newman Research between August 16, 2021 and August 30, 2021.

For more information, contact S. Kathi Brown of AARP Research at skbrown@aarp.org. Media inquiries should be directed to Alan Ormsby in the AARP Utah State Office at aormsby@aarp.org.