Low-Income Families Still Lagging In Broadband Access
In a report released July 11, 2011, Connected Nation examined broadband adoption among low-income households and substantiated a persistent social problem. At a time when computer and broadband access are essential to education, "approximately 2.9 million households that have annual incomes below $25,000 with children present do not own a home computer, and 5.5 million do not subscribe to home broadband service."
Connected Nation, a partner of Speed Matters, is concerned with the technology Affordability Gap, and its research suggests that "One idea for targeted intervention is to focus upon low-income households with children." The need is present, they found, even among families above the base poverty line. Said Connected Nation:
"We also estimate that there are 3.9 million households with children who qualify for free and reduced-cost lunches in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) who do not own a computer, and 8.1 million of these households do not subscribe to home broadband service."
Fortunately, the report also found one bright spot on the far side of the digital divide: "all other things being equal, households with children are significantly more inclined to adopt broadband than the population as a whole."
Speed Matters has recently urged that, given the necessity for broadband access, that the federal Universal Service Fund's Lifeline Assistance and Link-Up America programs be expanded to Internet as well as basic telephone. Lifeline Assistance and Link-Up America, which "provide monthly discounts to income-eligible consumers on basic telephone service charges," are designed to assist just the target population that Connected Nation has identified.
Connected Nation concludes that no one remedy is sufficient, but insists we as a country must try:
"Closing all adoption gaps as quickly as possible is a national priority, especially among schoolchildren, given the significant and escalating costs of digital exclusion. But the barriers to adoption are multifaceted, so closing these gaps will require nuanced and targeted approaches."
Lifeline-Linkup: Much-Needed Changes to Close the Digital Divide (Speed Matters)
Lifeline and Link-Up: Affordable Telephone Service for Income-Eligible Consumers (FCC)
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