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Study Shows 40-Percent of Americans Lack High-Speed Internet

by Amar Toor on February 17, 2010 at 03:20 PM

We've been talking a lot recently about how the U.S. has gradually begun to lag behind the rest of the developed world when it comes to broadband Internet access. Now, a new study from the Commerce Department shows just how dire the situation has become. As the Huffington Post reports, about 40-percent of all Americans do not have high-speed Internet access in their homes. As you'd imagine, the numbers divide fairly crisply along regional and socioeconomic fault lines. 66-percent of urban homes reported having a fast Internet connection, compared to just 54-percent of rural residences. When comparing both tails of the household income distribution, the gap is even wider. A massive 89-percent of Americans earning at least $150,000 annually have at-home broadband access, and for those with an annual income of $15,000 or less, the number drops to just 29-percent.

The report comes, conveniently enough, on the same day that the FCC unveils plans that would require all telecommunications companies to provide a minimum-speed Internet connection to all Americans by 2020. The proposed project, part of the larger National Broadband Plan, would give 100 Mbps access to 100 million homes. Providers, however, are scoffing at what they see as an unrealistically ambitious goal. AT&T denounced what they called a "regulation that would cripple, if not destroy, the very investments needed to realize its goal."


As we all know, the private sector doesn't take too well to government regulation, especially if companies feel it endangers their almighty bottom line. But the Internet sector is relatively unique, because the demand for Internet is comparatively inelastic. That is to say, if the price of Joe Six-Pack's monthly Internet fee rises by a little bit, he's still unlikely to jump ship simply because consumer demand is so steep. Sure, Joe could go to another provider, but if all providers are faced with the same 2020 goal (or, better yet, are subsidized in order to equalize costs), there wouldn't be that much effect on market competitiveness. All we really know is that we need to get up to snuff with the rest of the world. The best way to do it, at this point, is anybody's guess. [From: The Huffington Post and Reuters]

Tags: broadband, broadbandaccess, connectivity, fcc, government, internet, legislation, telecom, top

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