Broadband adoption rates low among Americans with disabilities, according to FCC
The FCC released a report that found surprisingly low broadband adoption rates among people with disabilities — only 42 percent of those studied have access to service at their residence.
The National Broadband Plan asks the FCC to review the barriers to broadband adoption that people with disabilities face, including: inaccessible hardware, software, and prohibitively expensive assistive technologies.
A significant portion of broadband non-adopters — almost 39 percent — have a disability. The report was published to ensure that people with disabilities do not fall victim to the digital divide.
The paper also identifies gaps that need to be addressed in order to improve the adoption rate by people with disabilities, including:
- Improving enforcement of existing accessibility laws;
- Gathering and analyzing more information about disability-specific broadband adoption issues;
- Updating accessibility regulations and subsidy programs; and, Ensuring the availability of training and support for people with disabilities.
The National Broadband Plan recommends that the Obama administration create a Broadband Accessibility Working Group (BAWG), establish an Accessibility and Innovation Forum at the FCC, and modernize accessibility laws and rules related to disabilities by the Department of Justice and Congress.
Read more about making high-speed Internet available for people with disabilities at Speedmatters.
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