US houses spend more on tech bills than utility bills

HARYANA, INDIA: A new report published by iYogi Insights titled, Consumer Research on Growing Spends on Technology Services 2012 revealed that 63 per cent of US households spend 35 per cent more on technology bills than utility bills.

The research also shows that mobile phones top the chart on monthly technology spends.

iYogi, a leading remote tech support company published this new research based on surveying nearly 1100 of its customers to understand their technology usage and monthly spend on services.

Also read: Now, monitor your hi-tech house sitting at office

The rising cost of energy has become a topic of hot debate, with US Department of Energy reporting that consumers spend 6 per cent to 12 per cent of their income on utilities. iYogi put its hypothesis, "is technology now the real utility" to the test through this research.

The research based on an in-depth survey offers interesting insights into the digital home, with technology bills for services surpassing utility bills for a majority of the respondents.

Research shows that with the ever-increasing role played by technology in every sphere of life, consumer spending on connecting to the Internet, subscribing to online services, mobile communication, and multimedia entertainment has also risen.

"iYogi Insights is a new initiative that reviews emerging and disruptive technologies and trends impacting our lives. Our large panel of customers, across multiple geographies, contribute to these insights", says Vishal Dhar, President Marketing and co-founder of iYogi.

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"Technology is now the real utility as increasingly households spend more on a combination of technology bills to stay connected than their utility bills. The results of the survey also cite that technology continues to be the key enabler for empowering people in today's fast-paced interconnected world, driven by demand for newer and smarter devices that connect to the Internet and to each other." added Dhar.

Key highlights from the survey

-- Number of technology devices in households with more than two members goes up to 10-11.

-- The highest expenditure is on mobile services with an average of $94 a month and an additional $19 on downloading games, music, movies, etc. Voice and data services are the most popular with 60 per cent respondents saying they subscribe to such packages.

-- Triple Play package for Internet +TV+ Phone is the most popular with 50 per cent respondents opting for this.

-- Households spend $20-$180 per month on their ISP bills.

-- Online back-up services, still a new concept, has already reached 30 per cent adoption with a spend of about $10 per month. Such cloud services have immense potential as new types of services are launched.

-- Nearly 30 per cent use instant messaging applications, and app downloads topped the chart followed by music, movies, videos and games.