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Profile: Researcher Jill Pitt on low income family needs for flexible net and computer deals
10 Mar 2010 | 16.13 Europe/London
Broadband should be marketed far more for its benefits, rather than an end in itself, and ISPs should be more creative at coming up with affordable packages which include computers.
That is the summary of Jill Pitt, researcher at Consumer Focus, a body part-funded by government which researches consumer issues. Presenting research at the House of Commons yesterday, she believes that the Government’s digital inclusion work is running up against the hurdle that many low income families cannot afford broadband access, do not see the benefit of connectivity or are put off by scare stories of computer viruses.
According to Pitt, although money is obviously an issue for low income families, the government and ISPs need to realise it is not the only barrier.
“A lot of the time, broadband isn’t actually pitched at people for what they might get out of it,” she says.
“There’s not a lot of talk about what you can actually do with a connection, it’s normally sold as an end in its own right. If you could market broadband for the ability to, say, Skype relatives all over the world, or get far better prices when they’re shopping, that would really place it where people understand what they’d get from it.”
Broadband and computer deals
One the cost side, the message Pitt reports to be getting back from the low income families is that there is a willingness to go online but funding both a computer and a broadband connection comes at too large a cost.
“A lot of the families we talk to know that broadband would be very useful, they particularly want to get connected for the sake of the kids and their homework and socialising,” she says.
“The problem is that not only is broadband perceived to be too expensive but people also don’t know how they’d afford a laptop or computer to go online with. The other major problem is that many people don’t have bank accounts so they can’t set up the direct debits you’d need.”
Hence Pitt believes there should be a rethink as to how broadband is positioned and made available to low income families.
“What we really need is for broadband packages to come with computers so people can pay a low monthly fee for both and this may well need to be paid monthly at a store rather than through direct debit,” she says.
“What could possibly work would be a scheme through which refurbished computers could be made available at lower cost, although you would have to have a system of ensuring that the computers worked well.
“The families we’ve spoken to would relish the chance to get a combined computer and broadband package, although most have said they’d want to be able to return the computer and cancel the contract within the first couple of months if they didn’t like it online.”
Pitt believes the Consumer Focus research should show both Government and the ISPs that they could do with being a little more inventive in how broadband is positioned as well as how it is made more affordable.
That is the summary of Jill Pitt, researcher at Consumer Focus, a body part-funded by government which researches consumer issues. Presenting research at the House of Commons yesterday, she believes that the Government’s digital inclusion work is running up against the hurdle that many low income families cannot afford broadband access, do not see the benefit of connectivity or are put off by scare stories of computer viruses.
According to Pitt, although money is obviously an issue for low income families, the government and ISPs need to realise it is not the only barrier.
“A lot of the time, broadband isn’t actually pitched at people for what they might get out of it,” she says.
“There’s not a lot of talk about what you can actually do with a connection, it’s normally sold as an end in its own right. If you could market broadband for the ability to, say, Skype relatives all over the world, or get far better prices when they’re shopping, that would really place it where people understand what they’d get from it.”
Broadband and computer deals
One the cost side, the message Pitt reports to be getting back from the low income families is that there is a willingness to go online but funding both a computer and a broadband connection comes at too large a cost.
“A lot of the families we talk to know that broadband would be very useful, they particularly want to get connected for the sake of the kids and their homework and socialising,” she says.
“The problem is that not only is broadband perceived to be too expensive but people also don’t know how they’d afford a laptop or computer to go online with. The other major problem is that many people don’t have bank accounts so they can’t set up the direct debits you’d need.”
Hence Pitt believes there should be a rethink as to how broadband is positioned and made available to low income families.
“What we really need is for broadband packages to come with computers so people can pay a low monthly fee for both and this may well need to be paid monthly at a store rather than through direct debit,” she says.
“What could possibly work would be a scheme through which refurbished computers could be made available at lower cost, although you would have to have a system of ensuring that the computers worked well.
“The families we’ve spoken to would relish the chance to get a combined computer and broadband package, although most have said they’d want to be able to return the computer and cancel the contract within the first couple of months if they didn’t like it online.”
Pitt believes the Consumer Focus research should show both Government and the ISPs that they could do with being a little more inventive in how broadband is positioned as well as how it is made more affordable.