[thelist] Percentage of users still on Dialup? (offlist)

BJ bj at kickasswebdesign.com
Fri Mar 11 08:09:44 CST 2005


I'd be interested in hearing the answer.

I will make a comment here-- sometimes stats like these are deceptive in 
terms of audience and demographics.

For instance--

I live approximately 60 miles west of NYC and approximately 60 miles NNE 
of Philly.  Though I get broadband the options are awful.  There's 
oversubscribed and almost as slow as dialup cable, or there's dsl which 
has really bad service and uptime.  Many of my friends in the semi-rural 
areas can only get that oversubscribed cable, and choose not to.  The 
rural areas I'm speaking of comprise some of the wealthiest in central 
and northern NJ, and eastern PA.  THIS is the demographic group that the 
products of most of my webdesign clients will appeal to.  So though I do 
sometimes include a "broadband bells and whistles" section on some of 
these websites, I design the overall site for dialup, and make it clear 
that the "bells and whistles" section may involve a long wait for the 
dialup people so they're forewarned and can make choices accordingly.   

I don't know if this situation is the case in other suburban areas, but 
it might be good to keep in mind.  Many folks with a few bucks choose to 
live in semi-rural areas near a city, and broadband may still not be as 
prevalent in many of those areas as you might think, though I guess once 
satellite hookups become more available and more dependable that will 
change.

I'm also hearing a lot about cellphone/palmpilot/mini access, which 
means smallscreen and low bandwidth.  I think I'm gonna keep designing 
my sites "svelte" regardless.

Just my two cents.
bj



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