Broadband Adoption Slows

The use of high-speed internet connections at home grew rapidly throughout the 2000s. Broadband access climbed from less than one-in-ten American adults at the start of the decade to a majority with high-speed access by 2008. Currently, two-thirds of American adults (66%) have broadband connections at home, a figure that is not statistically different from what the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project found at a similar point in 2009, when 63% of Americans were broadband adopters. The slowdown in broadband adoption crossed a range of demographic groups, with African Americans being a major exception. Broadband adoption by African Americans now stands at 56%, up from 46% at a similar point in 2009. Broadband adoption gaps remain within demographic groups as well. While an overwhelming number of college graduates have broadband access (86%), a bare majority of high school graduates can say the same (54%). Americans with higher incomes have more access than those with less, and non-rural adults (70%) are more connected than rural adults (50%). Read More