Broadband Adoption is Still a Hurdle for Low-Income Communities

Although broadband penetration is on the rise across the United States, many low-income and minority communities are still on the other side of the digital divide. A new report by the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, "Does Place Really Matter? Broadband Availability, Race and Income," attempts to pinpoint the factors contributing to low adoption rates.

"[The] paper presents three case studies in the state of South Carolina, and the cities of Chicago, IL, and Los Angeles, CA with in-depth analyses of wireline and wireless access in high minority, low-income communities. The findings of the study concluded that broadband service is becoming much more ubiquitous in high minority, low-income communities, yet levels of adoption still remain relatively low. The study also concluded that race is not a significant explanatory variable for disparate broadband deployment, and despite the availability of mobile broadband in low-income, high minority areas, wireless coverage is still inconsistent within regions."

A full copy of the report can be found at www.jointcenter.org.

The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies: Does Place Really Matter? Broadband Availability, Race and Income