The Federal Communications Commission will deliver a national broadband plan on March 17, the first of its kind to create a strategy for improving the U.S. high-speed Internet infrastructure. To set the stage, the FCC released Tuesday the results of its consumer survey, which found that 35 percent of adult Americans don’t have high-speed Internet connections at home.
That percentage represents 80 million adults and 13 million children over the age of five. The survey, a national random digit-dial survey of 5,005 adults in October and November, found that affordability, digital literacy, and relevance were the main obstacles to broader use and availability of broadband connections.
Minimum of 100 Mbps
FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said that “we need to make sure that all Americans have the skills and means to fully participate in the digital economy” to bolster American competitiveness. He has said he wants an industry minimum connection of 100 Mbps by 2020, compared with an industry average of four Mbps currently.
About a third of the non-adopters, or about 28 million adults, reported that money played a key role in their lack of broadband. Fifteen percent said the monthly fee is too expensive, ten percent said the installation fee is too high, and nine percent don’t want a long-term service contract. Owning or renting a computer was also a major expense obstacle.
But some of the non-adopters — about 12 percent — have concerns about digital literacy. They either do not believe they have the digital skills necessary to utilize a broadband connection, they are concerned about potential exposure to unwanted content, or they are uneasy about security for their personal information.
About 19 percent of non-adopters say the Internet is a waste of time and they are not compelled to go online — or, if they have dial-up, they are happy with…