Pew: Home broadband adoption, smartphone ownership rise

A new study from the Pew Research Center finds that broadband service at home increased by six percentage points in 2016 following modest declines in 2013 and 2015. As of November 2016, 73 percent of Americans have broadband service at home. Even as broadband home adoption rises, however, 12 percent of Americans say they are “smartphone dependent,” meaning they can only connect to the Internet by mobile device.

While wireless broadband is no substitute for a wired connection and important tasks like applying for a job are difficult on a mobile device, the increased broadband adoption at home is good news.

The study also found evidence supporting predictions of the coming mobile future: three out of four Americans (77 percent) now own a smartphone, a record high, that’s doubled over the past five years. “Smartphones are nearly ubiquitous among younger adults, with 92% of 18- to 29-year-olds owning one,” the report read, while the only 64 percent of low-income Americans own a smartphone. In addition, 69 percent of Americans use some form of social media and 51 percent own a tablet device, a huge increase from three percent six years ago.

Links:

Record shares of Americans now own smartphones, have home broadband (Pew Research Center, Jan. 12, 2017)

Internet/Broadband Fact Sheet (Pew Research Center, Jan. 12, 2017)