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Report shows increase in minority adoption rate, digital divide remains

A report released last week by the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies shows that while minorities are the fastest growing group of broadband adopters, significant barriers to adoption - age, income, and education - remain. The study was designed to highlight minority adoption trends and provide insight into factors affecting minority Internet use.

More than 75 percent of Americans - 79 percent of non-Hispanic Caucasians, 69 percent of African Americans, and 59 percent of Hispanics - currently subscribe to residential high speed Internet.

While home Internet usage among minorities has grown, the report shows adoption has occurred faster among minority, higher-income, college-educated individuals:

  • 91 percent of African Americans earning more than $50,000 regularly use the Internet as compared to 89 percent of Hispanics earning $50,000.
  • 98 percent of Hispanics and 94 percent of African Americans with a college education report regular use of the Internet.

Comparatively, both groups - high income with college education - have high adoption rates.

Age, family, and educational attainment are three major barriers that have deepened the digital divide for many groups:

  • 23 percent of African Americans and 21 percent of Hispanics who are over the age of 65 regularly use the Internet.
  • 60 percent of African Americans and Hispanics with annual incomes of less than $50,000 have reported using a high-speed connection.

The study confirms that minority groups that stand to gain the most from broadband Internet access - lower-income with less education - have still been unable to gain significant access.

The FCC's National Broadband Plan is expected to make recommendations on ways to improve access for groups without high-speed Internet. This includes increased federal funding for Internet education programs and faster and more readily available Internet in schools and libraries.

Lower-income and Less Educated Still Face Broad Digital Divide (Benton Foundation)

National Minority Broadband Adoption (Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies)