NTIA/ESA Report Sheds Light on Broadband Gaps

Despite the recent increase in broadband adoption rates, a new study has found that significant "adoption gaps" still exist — leaving African American and Latino populations behind at a rate greater than the national average. The Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and Economic and Statistics Administration (ESA) published the report.

The NTIA and ESA study revealed a dramatic increase in broadband use in the U.S. — from 9.2 percent in 2001 to 63.5 percent in 2009. Yet, this broadband adoption remains sharply divided across income, education, and socio-economic lines. Most troubling is that the divide also splits among race and ethnic lines:

"Income and education levels, although strongly associated with broadband Internet use, are not the sole determinants of broadband Internet adoption by households. Even after accounting for differences in income and education (and a number of other key household attributes), there remain significant differences in adoption rates across race and ethnicity... For example, the unexplained gaps between Whites and Blacks (10 percentage points) and Whites and Hispanics (14 percentage points) remain at double digits in 2009."

The CEO of Speed Matters partner One Economy, Ken Eisner, reinforced the argument that regulators should focus on adoption and not network neutrality:

"With all of that swirling around on net neutrality, which is definitely an important issue, I think what the report is saying... is that we need to be focusing on adoption, and not let it just be sucked into a hole as people are focusing on net neutrality."

Bridging the digital divide will take focused policy initiatives by Congress and the Federal Communications Commission. Promoting programs and legislation that bring high-speed Internet services to underserved communities, and promoting adoption across specific demographics should be an ongoing commitment on the path to universal broadband access.

Exploring the Digital Nation: Home Broadband Internet Adoption in the United States (NTIA)