EQUAL OPPORTUNITY SPEEDWAY
[SOURCE: BusinessWeek, AUTHOR: ]
Speedy Internet connections once were considered perks for the privileged.
Robust Net access was enjoyed by 30% of U.S. households as late as 2005, mostly
in white homes. Meanwhile, so-called broadband adoption by blacks was a mere
14%, according to data from the Pew Internet & American Life Project. The
resulting "digital divide" between white and black was considered a lasting
socioeconomic problem--like the protracted disparity between black and white
unemployment. But in the past two years, African Americans have been devouring
broadband technology--and the digital divide has shrunk significantly, at least
for this group. The share of black households with a cable modem, DSL, or
satellite Internet connection climbed to 40% this year, Pew says. That's almost
twice as fast as the growth of broadband penetration for the general
population, which grew to 47%. The income gap has narrowed, too, but not as
much: Households making less than $30,000 a year doubled their broadband
participation, to 30%. That still pales next to 76% for households that have
incomes of at least $75,000. Some of the closing of the racial divide can be
traced to falling prices and rising availability of new technology. But that
masks a deeper shift in the relationship of blacks to the Web. The Net today
offers an abundance of entertainment riches--digital music, pictures, movies,
video chat, games--that can be tailored to individual taste, not to mention
services such as job networks and training. Gaining access to that killer
content without broadband speeds would be like sucking hot fudge through a
straw.
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_21/b4035061.htm?campaign_id=rss_tech
---------------------------------------------------------------
WWWhatsup NYC
http://pinstand.com - http://punkcast.com
---------------------------------------------------------------
_______________________________________________
Discuss mailing list
[email protected]
http://lists.isoc-ny.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
