Small Business Adoption Gap Could Mean Billions in Untapped Revenue
Bowling Green, KY. (May 18, 2011) - As the nation marks the 48th annual National Small Business Week, new research by Connected Nation shows that more than one million small businesses are not using broadband, leading to the potential loss of billions in additional revenue
Connected Nation’s recently released Broadband & Business report, produced by surveying more than 9,600 businesses across 12 states and territories served by Connected Nation, shows that only 68% of small businesses use broadband. Small businesses are classified as those with one to four employees. That 32% non-adoption gap indicates that approximately 1.3 million small businesses still do not use broadband. By contrast, 83% of surveyed businesses with 50 or more employees use broadband.
The report also reveals that small businesses that use broadband earn average annual revenues of $336,000 and small businesses that don’t use broadband earn an average of $283,000. That $50,000-plus difference means that those 1.3 million businesses are losing out on a potential $65 billion in revenue per year.
Later this week, we’ll be spotlighting some small businesses that have tapped into the revenue stream offered by broadband and tell you how they did it.
By Wes Swietek
Communications QA Specialist, Connected Nation