Small Business Use Of Telecommunications Services Detailed In New Report

Sound small business telecommunications policy
grounded in solid research is now possible because of survey results
released today by the Office of Advocacy. The report details small
business telecommunications use and spending and offers a wide range of
data previously unavailable to policy makers.

“Intense legislative and regulatory debates surround
telecommunications policy,” said Thomas M. Sullivan, Chief Counsel for
Advocacy. “On issues like competition and broadband service the discussion
has focused on individual consumers. But small businesses are major
consumers of telecommunications services, too. This report will help
policy makers understand how their decisions will affect innovative and job-
generating small businesses.”

The new and much needed data in A Survey of Small Businesses’
Telecommunications Use and Spending,
(http://www.sba.gov/advo/research/rs236tot.pdf) written by TeleNomic
Research and funded by the Office of Advocacy, shows that small business
spends on average $543 per month on telecommunications services. It also
clearly shows that differences in size and industry drive
telecommunications spending.

The report finds that the smallest of businesses pay the most per
employee for local and long distance phone service. Firms with zero to
four employees face a monthly cost per employee of $82.81, while small
firms with 10 to 499 employees face a monthly per employee cost of $20.99.

Also among the reports findings, 73 percent of small businesses use
Internet access services. Of these, 38 percent use dial-up, 26 percent use
cable modems, 21 percent use DSL, four percent use satellites, four percent
use T-1 lines, and three percent use wireless broadband.

The Office of Advocacy, the “small business watchdog” of the
government, examines the role and status of small business in the economy
and independently represents the views of small business to federal
agencies, Congress, and the President. It is the source for small business
statistics presented in user-friendly formats and it funds research into
small business issues.

For a complete copy of the report, visit the Office of Advocacy
website at http://www.sba.gov/advo.

For Release: March 11, 2004

Contact: John McDowell (202) 205-6941

[email protected]

SBA Number: 04-08 ADVO

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Created by Congress in 1976, the Office of Advocacy of the U.S. Small
Business Administration (SBA) is an independent voice for small business
within the federal government. Appointed by the President and confirmed by
the U.S. Senate, the Chief Counsel for Advocacy directs the office. The
Chief Counsel advances the views, concerns, and interests of small business
before Congress, the White House, federal agencies, federal courts, and
state policy makers. Economic research, policy analyses, and small
business outreach help identify issues of concern. Regional Advocates and
an office in Washington, DC, support the Chief Counsel’s efforts. For more
information on the Office of Advocacy, visit http://www.sba.gov/advo, or call
(202) 205-6533.