The internet seems much better with broadband, but the spread has been limited at times by service providers. “It was worth it, not to hear my husband bitch about the connection anymore,” Anita Paulk said.

In less than a decade, broadband has gone from a luxury to a must for many people, and for some of them, its started to influence their real-estate decisions. Homes that have broadband are winning out over more remote ones that dont. Areas with better and faster broadband are becoming more desirable than ones with slower access.

Edward Redpath, a real estate broker in Hanover, N.H., said he has seen deals fall through once the buyer realizes a home doesnt get broadband. Across the Connecticut River in Norwich, Vt., only the center of the village has cable.

“We have a lot of people that dont go into the rural neighborhoods or consider the rural neighborhoods because they need the broadband,” Redpath said. “Our lifestyle demands speed.”

There are several intersecting trends at play. One is that our reliance on broadband is increasing. About 55 percent of Americans have broadband at home, according to a recent survey from the Pew Internet and American Life Project – although more people have service available to them and dont buy it.

But the spread of broadband is slowing down. Getting the last 10 percent or so of homes connected is an expensive proposition, because theyre in small communities or far from other homes. Over time, the lack of universal broadband, along with higher gasoline prices, could pull people from the countryside toward cities and suburbs.

To connect the most distant Vermont homes in Redpaths area, the local phone company, FairPoint Communications Inc., will be using unconventional means. Starting next year, it will use wireless links to fulfill a pledge of providing broadband to its entire service area in the state.

Wireless broadband coverage from cellular carriers is also expanding rapidly, but it still follows major roads and population centers. Even if you can get it, its slower than wired broadband and there are monthly download limits.

As a last resort, satellite broadband is available nearly everywhere. But it has strict limits on how much data a subscriber can download, and some activities, like playing action games online, are impossible because the signal takes time to travel to space and back. In any case, the satellites dont have the capacity to serve everyone who cant get wired broadband.

The uneven access to wired broadband has led to calls for involvement by the federal government, which so far has taken a hands-off approach. The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Kevin Martin, recently suggested using the Universal Service Fund, which subsidizes phone service in rural areas, to promote broadband coverage as well.

Even in built-up areas, broadband has become a factor for some people when they decide where to live, at least if they work from home.

“The most important factor for the location was the availability of reliable Internet,” Skripka said.

In luxury apartments, the standard is now to have at least two choices for broadband, according to Henry Pye, the director of resident services and technology at JPI Partners LLC, which owns buildings across the country. Its his job to make sure they get broadband, because, he said, you cant rent out apartments without broadband anymore.

“It might as well be water,” he said.

Andru Edwards, who runs the technology blog Gearlive.com, moved from Seattle to a suburb last year so he could get a fiber-optic connection from Verizon Communications Inc. He had a cable modem at his old apartment, but it took too much time to upload high-definition video clips for the blog.

“It definitely took our business to the next level. Ive never looked back,” he said.

Source: iades