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Market competition would increase Web access Being “connected” is critically important in the digital information age, as digital technologies continue to change the way we live, learn, work, and do business. But the reality is that not all Americans have convenient access to the Internet. More than 40 percent of Americans don’t have even dial-up Internet access at home. Not knowing how to use the latest Internet technologies, those Americans are lacking an important set of technical skills. This narrows their range of educational, economic, and social opportunities. Encouraging people to go to the library to use the Internet is inadequate, because ease of access is a major factor in frequency of use. The cost of Internet access--dial-up and especially broadband--is the main obstacle to connectivity. Consumers Union believes
more marketplace competition would drive down the cost of hooking up to the Internet and make access more affordable. Those who lack home access are more likely to be members of minority groups, low-income, less-educated, elderly, from a Southern rural community, unemployed, or disabled, according to research by the Pew Internet and American Life Project. Income appears to be the overriding determinant of who has Internet access at home. More than 80 percent of households with incomes above $50,000 a year have it, but less than half earning under $30,000 a year do, a recent analysis by Consumers Union and the Consumer Federation of America discovered. It’s not just the families who lack access who stand to benefit from closing the divide. We all benefit from a greater-skilled
and more-informed citizenry. As such, closing the digital divide in the U.S. should be a national priority. The divide grows even wider when it comes to high-speed access. About half of households earning more than $75,000 have broadband, a high-speed cable or DSL connection that enables much faster searching, downloading, video streaming, and other technologies. With broadband costing an average of $30 to $45 per month, it’s not surprising that low-income Americans are being left behind. Even households with dial-up access are limited, because many online technologies work poorly without broadband. And some options, such as Internet phone calling, require a broadband connection. Why is broadband so expensive in the U.S. compared with other parts of the world? The reason is U.S. government policy. Nations such as Japan and Korea have opened up their cable and phone networks to providers who use them to compete for customers through lower prices. U.S. policies have resulted in less competition; the cable or phone company decides who can use its network and at what price. Policymakers can increase access to broadband by opening up cable and phone lines to broadband competitors for a reasonable fee. The U.S. government should also promote Wi-Fi, a wireless technology that enables people to go online quickly and cheaply. It should restore funding to investments like the Technology Opportunities Program and the Community Technology Centers Program that funded local projects such as distance-medicine and technology education. And for the 40 percent of Americans without any type of online connection at home, policymakers must commit to creating universal and affordable access to the Internet. To learn more about this issue, go to Consumers Union’s new media-policy Web site, at www.hearusnow.org .
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