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NTIA - National Telecommunications and Information Administration

The U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) released their research preview report that cites some very interesting findings related to broadband internet usage in the U.S.

Here is a quote from the 1st paragraph: ” The release of this report, Digital Nation: 21st Century America’s Progress Toward Universal Broadband Internet Access, by the U.S. Department of Commerce occurs at a critical juncture in the nation’s quest for universal broadband Internet access. The report confirms that at the end of the first decade of the 21st Century, too many Americans still rely on slow, narrowband Internet access or do not use the Internet at all. This fact and others revealed in the report underscore the importance of the Administration’s policy objective to ensure that all Americans have affordable access to broadband Internet services.”

While broadband internet activity has increased dramatically over the first decade of the 21st century many of the traditional differences between groups persists.

On the high end are the groups that skew younger, have higher incomes, Asians and Whites , employed and married couples are more likely to use broadband at home.  Conversely those with lower income, less educated, non-family, unemployed, seniors and minorities continue to fall behind.

Some quick stats from the report which you can read fully here.

• 63.5 percent of U.S. households used high speed Internet service as of October 2009

• Increase of 25 percent from October 2007 (2 years earlier)

• Persons 18-24 have the highest broadband use at home.

• Asian non-Hispanics led all groups.

• 84 percent of those with college degrees had broadband access at home versus only 28 percent with less than a high school diploma.

For everyone involve in marketing there are implications to be found in this report and I recommend that you give it a quick read.

NTIA_Reasons for no broadband