College-educated users said they were willing to spend an average of $30.19 per month on broadband services, while users who had a high-school diploma or less said they were willing to spend an average of $25.20 per month for broadband.

In terms of age demographics, users in the 18 to 24 age range said they were willing to spend an average of $31.19 per month for broadband services, while users in the 25 to 44 age range said they were willing to spend an average of $29.80 a month for broadband services. In contrast, users in the age range of 45 to 64 were willing to spend an average of $27.23 a month for broadband services, while seniors were willing to spend an average of $25.82 per month for broadband services.

Users in both urban and rural areas were both willing to spend roughly the same amount each month for broadband services, despite the fact that rural areas have far to broadband services than urban areas.

Dutz and Orszag also found that broadband users were far more likely to use their Internet connections for business and commercial applications than dial-up users. For instance, 21.8% of broadband users reported using their connections to access their employer's network last year, vs. only 8.4% of dial-up users accessed their employer's network through their home connection. Meanwhile, around 80% of broadband users reported buying a product online using their home connection last year, vs. roughly 62% of dial-up users who reported buying a product online using their home connection.

The study on the economic benefits of broadband comes as the United States debates how to best improve broadband access and quality to underserved regions of the country. As part of the economic stimulus package passed earlier this year, the federal government allotted $7.2 billion to fund broadband infrastructure investment over the next two years. Of that money, $4.7 billion has been given to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to award grants for projects that will build out broadband infrastructure in unserved or under-served areas, to deliver broadband capabilities for public safety agencies and to stimulate broadband demand through training and education. The remaining $2.5 billion in broadband stimulus money has been allotted to the Department of Agriculture to make loans to companies building out broadband infrastructure in rural areas.