Is broadband really an innovation – or just the Internet faster?

Peter Adams
Charles Sturt University

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     Last modified: November 12, 2004

Abstract
Despite promotion by the telecommunications companies and various content creation initiatives by government, the adoption of broadband has been slow in Australia. According to recent figures released by Roy Morgan Research only four per cent of Australian homes have a broadband connection (2003). Without a significant increase in the number of broadband users, there is little incentive for government and industry to invest in content and services which require broadband access for delivery.

Unlike technologies like 3G mobile phones or DVD players, broadband is an intangible and predominantly non-portable technology. If consumers do not perceive broadband to be an innovation, can we expect it to follow the ‘normal’ diffusion pattern promoted by Rogers (2003)?

How consumers perceive using broadband needs further investigation.

The purpose of this paper is to examine whether broadband can be considered an innovation and to contrast existing theoretical frameworks to assist in examining the adoption of broadband by individual consumers in their home environments. It builds on existing technology adoption models from the Information Systems literature, as well as drawing on related research in other research traditions including Marketing and Sociology. There is also discussion about how the attributes of broadband affect how consumers perceive its utility.