Society is increasingly reliant on fast, reliable broadband access to participate in almost every aspect of our lives. We take classes, manage our finances, access our health care records, and seek employment online. The opportunities for new economic opportunities are seemingly limitless…that is, if you have access to high speed Internet.
According to a report by the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, there is a vast digital divide in this country. As the chart below illustrates, 38% of US households lack access to broadband. When we break that number apart by race and ethnicity, we see that 43% of African-Americans and 53% of Hispanics have no broadband access in their homes. Furthermore, the disparities increase across age, income, and education. For example, among households with $20,000 or less in annual income, fewer than 40% have broadband access while broadband penetration is 91% for households with annual incomes of more than $75,000.
According to the New America Foundation, the reasons most often cited for not having broadband service at home are either it is not affordable, people lack the skills to use the Internet, are unaware of the benefits, or it is not available where they live. For example, according to the Center for Rural Strategies, over half of rural residents in the US lack broadband access.
Media justice activists like the Media Mobilizing Project are calling on the FCC and Congress to “define broadband as a universal service, just like telephones were in the 1980s. Like phones, broadband is a public resource and not simply a private enterprise. Universal service can provide the resources and rules to support full broadband adoption and access in poor communities and communities of color.”
The ability to communicate in our society is both an economic necessity and a civil right. Let’s make sure everyone can access the opportunities that the Internet provides by advocating for universal broadband access. For more information, go to the Media Action Grassroots Network’s webpage.
Created by Member Economist Sue Holmberg
October 2011
Sources:
Center for Rural Strategies. “Broadband and Rural America: Architects of the Digital Future.” http://www.scribd.com/doc/28660761/Grassroots-Media-Policy-Brief-Broadband-and-Rural-Communities
Gant, Jon P., Turner-Lee, Nicol E., and Ying Li. 2010. “National Minority Broadband Adoption: Comparative Trends in Adoption, Acceptance and Use.” Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies.
Lubin, Judy. 2010. “Broadband Access-A Civil Right in the Digital Age.” New America Foundation. http://mediapolicy.newamerica.net/blogposts/2010/broadband_access_a_civil_right_in_the_digital_age-29570
Media Mobilizing Project. “Broadband and Poverty: a New Agenda for a New Economy.”
http://www.scribd.com/doc/28538526/Grassroots-Media-Policy-Brief-Broadband-and-Poverty
