The latest data from the U.S. National Telecommunications and Information Administration continues to show why the “digital divide,” measured as use of broadband internet access, has not closed faster.
Nationally, 81 percent of respondents report using the internet. About 71 percent say they use the internet on their smartphones. About 49 percent say they connect their laptops, while 28 percent report connecting desktop computers.
About 76 percent say they use the internet at home. As recently as 1998, 76 percent of respondents said they did not use the internet at home. About four percent claim the internet is not available where they live.
Most users report using both mobile and fixed networks. Some 74 percent of respondents have a mobile data plan and 71 say they buy fixed network broadband.
“When respondents were asked why they don’t use the Internet at home, nearly 60 percent said the main reason is that they don't need it or not interested,” says George Ford, Phoenix Center for Advanced Legal and Economic Public Policy Studies chief economist.
That finding has been consistent since at least 2015, NTIA data shows. At the same time, “cost” has declined as a reason for not buying broadband access services. Some 18 percent of “non-using” respondents said using the internet was “too expensive.”
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