Pew: Home Broadband Adoption Slowing

After several years of double digit growth, the adoption of broadband Internet access slowed dramatically over the last year.

Two-thirds of American adults (66%) now have a broadband Internet connection at home, a figure that is little changed from the 63% with a high-speed home connection at a similar point in 2009. Most demographic groups experienced flat-to-modest broadband adoption growth over the last year. The notable exception to this trend came among African-Americans, who experienced 22% year-over-year broadband adoption growth.

In 2009 65% of whites and 46% of African-Americans were broadband users (a 19-point gap)
In 2010 67% of whites and 56% of African-Americans are broadband users (an 11-point gap)

By a 53%-41% margin, Americans say they do not believe that the spread of affordable broadband should be a major government priority. Contrary to what some might suspect, non-Internet users are less likely than current users to say the government should place a high priority on the spread of high-speed connections.