Bay Area residents are spending more time online and the majority are now using high-speed DSL to do so, according to results of the 2007 Bay Area Council Poll of 600 residents released recently.

In 1999, the average number of hours residents estimated they spent online per week was 11 hours, but that estimate has steadily increased to 16 hours in 2007. San Francisco residents spend the most time online, averaging 18 hours a week, and North Bay residents of Marin, Sonoma, Napa and Solano spend 13 hours online each week, the least amount in the region.

Residents have also been trading up on their connection speeds in their homes, outpacing the rest of the United States. Just five years ago, in 2002, 53 percent of residents with Internet access logged onto with a regular modem, but today modems are used by a mere 11 percent of residents. Instead, the majority (55 percent) now use high-speed DSL, and about another third (29 percent) log on with high-speed cable at their home. The Bay Area, as a region, is far ahead of the rest of the country in broadband access, with a 62 percent adoption rate, versus 42 percent of the total U.S. population in 2006 according to the Pew Internet & American Life Project.

While hours online and connection speeds have increased, the number of residents who use a personal computer has stayed relatively flat. In 1999, 79 percent or respondents used a PC either at home, work or at school, and today 81 percent report that they do.

The "Digital Divide" was apparent in the Bay Area Council Poll results. While 97 percent of those with an income greater than $80,000 regularly use a computer, only 62 percent of respondents with an income lower than $40,000 use a PC. Likewise, 95 percent of residents in the top income bracket access the Internet, but only 52 percent of those with an income less than $40,000 do so.

For more information, check out the Bay Area Council press release.