The Rapid Rise of Broadband June 12th, 2009
Regina Hopper

From reinvigorating our economy to transforming health care, education, and the environment, broadband-driven opportunities hold tremendous potential for all Americans. With the President focused on a national broadband strategy and our industry investing approximately $ 60 billion annually in infrastructure, the U.S. continues to be a fast-evolving broadband landscape with new innovations and expanding choices reaching consumers every day. Now, a new study conducted by Leichtman Research Group, Inc. (LRG) reveals that broadband subscriptions have spiked in recent years—with more than two-thirds of U.S. households using high-speed Internet services, as opposed to one-fifth of households just five years ago.

The study also points out the well-known challenges and economic disparities contributing to broadband adoption demographics. LRG found that 89% of all households with annual incomes over $75,000 subscribe to a broadband service; whereas 70% of households with incomes ranging from $30,000-$75,000 subscribe, and only 30% of households with incomes under 30,000 have high-speed Internet. As other studies also show, many households with lower annual incomes do not have computers, or subscribe to any type of Internet service at home. And a Pew Internet and American Life Project study revealed that, of the 25% of non-Internet users, one-third said they were “not interested in going online,” nearly ten percent said it was too “difficult,” and seven percent claimed they don’t “have time.” Meanwhile, 19 percent of dial-up users said “nothing” – not even lower prices – would encourage them to upgrade to broadband.

Fortunately, innovative public-private partnerships can play a crucial role in alleviating this digital divide. Case in point: the Connect Kentucky initiative tackled technology literacy and other barriers to access; as a result, this effort increased computer ownership by 5 times the national average, caused broadband adoption to double, and empowered residents to take on new IT jobs in state. Along similar lines, a Connect Ohio program, in partnership with Governor Strickland’s No Child Left Offline initiative, recently distributed 400 computers to disadvantaged students. Creative alliances and solutions such as these can make a tremendous difference in targeting the populations and areas facing unique broadband adoption challenges.

As the LRG study makes clear, the evolution and adoption of broadband is a true success story, as indicated by its exponential growth and life-enhancing innovations. The challenges that do exist extend beyond simply rolling out more high-speed Internet choices, and require creative collaborations to bring the bounty of broadband into even more homes.

This entry was posted on Friday, June 12th, 2009 at 9:53 am and is filed under Benefits of Broadband, Broadband Now. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.