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• The Finance department has expressed needs to: o Have connectivity to the liquor stores; o. Upgrade the accounting system; o Increase the baud rate. - The Chamber of Commerce reports that local businesses indicate: o Feeling behind in technology; o Having troubles with e-mail; o Needing faster connections for credit card processing. Local business developers usually admire a city for taking a leadership role regarding technology and economic development. Due to the lack of high- speed Internet access options in the Silver Lake Village and St. Anthony Industrial Park developments, business leaders a-nd developers would likely support a competitively priced Internet access service offering. Many residents and businesses are unaware of the capabilities and applications for high-speed Internet access. Education is a key component to the success of any network offering. • Current Internet access users are reluctant to change service providers unless they are looking for faster speeds at an affordable rate. 2.2 Residential Use and Demand Based on our market research conducted in St. Louis Park and Woodbury, we offer the following insights and information about residential use and demand: • The vast majority of households have at least one computer in the home. The results have been as high as 90 percent of households surveyed have computers. • Of the small percentage of homes without a computer, the most common reasons for not having a computer are: o No need; o Already have access at work, school, or library; o Don't know how to use a computer; o Too costly to purchase computer. • A large majority of households have Internet access — usually more than 80 percent. Many of these households have high-speed Internet access. • The type of Internet access varies depending upon the availability of high- speed services (DSL, cable modem, etc.). In areas where there are limited 2-8 70 un