Today the Internet Innovation Alliance is hosting an event titled Developing a National Broadband Strategy: Deployment, Adoption and the Stimulus. John Horrigan from Pew kicked off the event with a bang by rolling out the latest data from Pew’s Internet and American Life Project. (Stay tuned for an interview with John to be posted later today)
As always, the data is very interesting as it examines broadband trends among various segments of the U.S. population—and what an extraordinary story John had to tell this year about U.S. broadband adoption.
The latest Pew study shows that 63% of the U.S. adult population is now using broadband in the home—that’s a 15% year-over-year leap.
Other key findings:
Senior citizens: Broadband usage among adults ages 65 or older raced ahead by more than 50%–growing from 19% in May, 2008, to 30% in April, 2009.
Low-income Americans: Those living in homes with annual household incomes below $30,000 experienced a 34% growth in home broadband adoption from 2008 to 2009.
High-school graduates: Among adults whose highest level of educational attainment is a high school degree, broadband adoption grew from 40% in 2008 to 52% in 2009.
Older baby boomers: Among adults ages 50-64, broadband usage increased from 50% in 2008 to 61% in 2009.
Rural Americans: Adults living in rural America had home high-speed usage grow from 38% in 2008 to 46% in 2009.
Other highlights: Only 5% of Americans said they do not have broadband because of concerns over price (no surprise when ITU says that Americans have the most affordable broadband in the world), and only 4% of Americans said they do not have broadband because the service is not available to them. In fact, 60% of households said they had three or more choices for broadband service.
The most significant challenge still before us? A full 50% of Americans on the other side of the broadband divide continue to say that they simply do not want or need the service and that it is not relevant to their everyday lives.
Extraordinary progress and key insights into the work still ahead as we strive toward the shared goal of ensuring all Americans can reap the benefits of the broadband future.
3 Responses to “U.S. Broadband Adoption Soars”
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August 18th, 2009 at 9:49 am
[...] progress in capacity and reach? Check. Reducing barriers to access? Check. Where can we do better? Stimulating demand among those who still don’t see the benefits of broadband (another major theme here at [...]
September 9th, 2009 at 1:39 pm
[...] good news comes on the heels of the latest Pew American and Internet Life Project findings documenting a more than 20% surge in rural American broadband adoption in the past year. Now add in [...]
September 28th, 2009 at 1:54 pm
[...] good news follows-up on the most recent Pew Internet and American Life Project findings, which document a more than 20% surge in rural American broadband adoption in the past [...]