More Internet Equals More Jobs: Reviving the Economy with Broadband

High-speed Internet is one of the most transformative technologies in human history. In little more than a decade, broadband has completely changed how people do business, engage with government, teach children, and interact with one another and the rest of the world. But not everyone is able to take advantage of this technology. The US is suffering from a "digital divide," where tens of millions of people can't get online for reasons of class, location, race and ethnicity. Only 35 percent of homes with less than $50,000 in annual income have broadband, while 76 percent of homes earning more than $50,000 per year are connected, according to the 2007 US Census Bureau. Like Connie, nearly 20 million Americans live in places that are not served by a single broadband provider. And the digital divide has an ugly race component: only 40 percent of ethnic minority households subscribe to broadband, while 55 percent of non-Hispanic white households are connected. These stunning numbers don't take into account the other barriers to access - many people simply can't afford a computer or don't have the skills to use the technology. "With those variables, that means that there's a huge population of people who don't have [Internet] access who won't be able to engage in our society as a whole," says Shireen Mitchell, executive director of Digital Sisters/Sistas Inc., an organization that works to bridge the digital divide in underserved communities.