According to a new study, 52 percent of U.S. consumers surveyed said that Internet service was their home’s most important utility. The survey, conducted by Harris Interactive for Verizon, polled 2,292 adults aged 18 and over.

It found that, if a person has an Internet-­connectable device with them at all times whenever they leave home, there is a good chance that they are one of the nearly 40 percent of Americans that the study identified as “borderless consumers.”

Verizon defines the “borderless lifestyle” as the result of the convergence of wired and wireless broadband networks, user flexibility and personal empowerment that the converged services enable. This new lifestyle eliminates old technology boundaries that used to separate networks and service platforms, home and work, allowing customers to connect and accomplish what they want or need to do, whenever they wish, wherever they are, using the device that they prefer.

The survey found that, while borderless consumers are well-equipped for anytime, anywhere online engagement, their digital activities such as communication, entertainment and commerce still revolve around their physical home.

According to the survey, 82 percent of borderless consumers were interested in using network services such as cloud-based data storage to access to their data files using any device, from any location, at any time. Ninety percent looked forward to the day when every connectable device in their house can seamlessly interconnect and work together using the in-home network or the Internet.

All borderless consumers shared a common motivation to make technology and connectivity upgrades to enjoy the full benefits of boundary-free living. They were found in every ethnic and age group, although the 18-to-34 demographic constituted the greatest number.