Why don't Americans want broadband?

According to a new Department of Commerce report, 64 percent of all US households now have broadband; among those that don't, the biggest reason is a lack of interest, followed by cost.

Also interesting: availability is no longer a serious issue for adoption, except insofar as limited competition affects the price of the service. A few of these non-broadband households do actually have Internet access, usually through dial-up. The survey found that 5 percent of US households still subject themselves to dial-up, though the number continues to decline. What might convince more the holdouts to sign up for broadband? The Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA) -- which counts companies like Microsoft, Google, Yahoo, Oracle, and Facebook among its members -- says the answer is network neutrality. "More folks are likely to sign up for broadband connections if the FCC assures them of an open Internet, where they can have access to everything, including video, online," said VP Cathy Sloan. "Yes, net neutrality rules will absolutely encourage broadband adoption." This is more than a little hard to believe. Network neutrality means little to those who say they are "not interested" in the Internet, and it wouldn't lower broadband prices or provide a computer to those without one -- the three biggest categories of broadband non-adopters.