Home Broadband Adoption Stalls Among Some AmericansHome Broadband Adoption Stalls Among Some Americans

Broadband adoption has kept even pace with previous years, but stalled among America's poor, according to a report released this week.

The Pew Internet & American Life Project found no growth in broadband adoption among poor people in the United States from May of 2007 to May of 2008. Pew based its findings (PDF) on a daily tracking survey on Americans' Internet use. The organization conducted the survey among 2,251 U.S. adults, from April 8, 2008 to May 11, 2008. Of those surveyed, 1,553 are Internet users, and 1,153 of the respondents use broadband at home.

Only 10% of Americans have dial-up connections at home, according to Pew. Just 25% of American households with annual incomes of $20,000 or less had broadband connections in their homes in April 2008. That's down from 28% reported in that income bracket in March 2007.

The number of African Americans with broadband connections at home also declined from 43% to 40%, according to Pew. However, loss is small and within the survey's margin of error.

Sixty-two percent of dial-up users said they don't want broadband. Thirty-five percent said they would switch if the price of broadband decreased. Nineteen percent said nothing would convince them to switch to broadband.

About one-quarter of U.S. adults do not use the Internet. Half of them are over 61 years old and most report lower-incomes than Internet users. Thirty-three percent of those who do not use the Internet said they're just not interested, 12% lack access, and 9% said it is too difficult or frustrating. Seven percent said it is too expensive and another seven percent called it a waste of time.

Overall, the percentage of American adults with broadband connections at home has risen to 55%, from 47% last year, the survey found. That represents little change in home broadband adoption since Pew's survey in December 2007.

Forty-five percent of Americans with annual household incomes from $20,000 to $40,000 had broadband in April 2008, according to Pew. That's up 24% from the previous year.

Rural areas continued to increase broadband adoption as well. Thirty-eight percent reported using broadband at home this year, up from 31% in 2007.