Americans would rather go without Starbucks for a year than their WLAN

Wi-Fi access more important than coffee or sports, finds survey.

By Network World Staff, Network World
October 31, 2006 02:44 PM ET

What would you rather give up - Starbucks for a year or your Wi-Fi? Nearly nine out of 10 Americans said they would give up their morning latte than be without Wi-Fi, according to a recent survey by the Wi-Fi Alliance.

The survey of 549 Americans, carried out by Kelton Research, found that 92% of young "hipsters" - respondents aged between 18 and 29 - were more likely to give up caffeine, compared to just 77% of respondents aged between 40 and 49.

Wi-Fi also appears to be more important than sports to some Americans; 81% said it would be worse to lose their wireless LAN for a week than for their team to lose the big game this weekend. The most devoted WLAN fans were in the Midwest where 86% of respondents chose Wi-Fi over a big loss for their team. In the West, three out of four considered losing Wi-Fi to be worse.

Some 17% of Americans said there is nothing wrong with hopping onto someone else's WLAN, but most (83%) recognized that this is stealing, found the survey. Perhaps that is why 77% of respondents say that have activated the security features on their WLAN.