Obama report: More people getting the internet, but poor and minorities lagging
Obama admin report: More people getting Internet, but poor and minorities lagging
More people are using broadband Internet at home, but low-income families, minorities and seniors aren’t adopting the service as quickly as others, according to the Obama administration.
The findings were in a report released Tuesday by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration and come amid a push by the White House to bring high-speed Internet connections to all American homes.
According to the results of an NTIA survey, 64 percent of households have broadband access compared with 51 percent in October 2007.
Urban areas had higher adoption rates: In 2009, two-thirds of urban households and only 54 percent of rural households accessed broadband Internet service. That compared with 54 percent of urban households and 39 percent of rural households in 2007.
“While it is encouraging that Americans across virtually all demographic groups and geographic areas are using broadband at higher rates than ever before, a significant portion of the population is still not online,” said Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information and NTIA Administrator Lawrence E. Strickling.
The NTIA said notable was that people with low incomes, seniors, minorities, the less-educated, non-family households and the unemployed tend to lag behind other groups in home broadband use.
And for those who aren’t getting high-speed Web connections, the reasons come down to price, unavailability of service access, and a perception that getting on the Web just isn’t worth the cost.
Source: Washington Post
