NM lags in Internet availability
Posted at: 08/16/2012 6:00 PM
| Updated at: 08/17/2012 10:55 AM
By: Stuart Dyson, KOB Eyewitness News 4
New Mexico is at the bottom of yet another list - this time U.S. Census figures show the state lags behind every state in the nation when it comes to hooking up to the Internet.
New Census Bureau survey results show 64 percent of New Mexico households have Internet access, even lower than Mississippi, which is just a tad more computer-friendly than we are.
"Well, I'm surprised," said Steve Shephard, former president of the New Mexico Computer Society. " I'm especially surprised considering all the scientific organizations we have in this state, like Sandia Labs and Los Alamos."
The Census figures show it has a lot to do with economics, education, and geography. New Mexico is a largely rural state, with vast stretches of open country
"The cost of broadband Internet is very, very expensive," Stuart Gorelick, owner of Sandia Computers on Wyoming Boulevard, said. "Really, the only way that people can get it out there in the middle of nowhere isprobably by their phone line, which is dial-up, and you know what the big problem with that is - it's super slow."
The nationwide rate for Internet access is 71 percent, with some states much higher.
New Hampshire leads the pack with 86 percent.
This is one time New Mexicans can't say 'Thank God for Mississippi' - the state that usually keeps us from the bottom of the barrel.
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