Home Broadband Adoption 2009

An April 2009 survey by the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project shows 63% of adult Americans now have broadband Internet connections at home, a 15% increases from a year earlier. April's level of high-speed adoption represents a significant jump from figures gathered by the Project since the end of 2007 (54%). The growth in home broadband adoption occurred even though survey respondents reported paying more for broadband compared to May 2008. Last year, the average monthly bill for broadband Internet service at home was $34.50, a figure that stands at $39.00 in April 2009. Broadband users were also asked, for the first time in a Pew survey, how they view the importance of broadband to civic and community life. Some 55% of home broadband users said broadband was very important to at least one dimension of their lives and community, such as communicating with health care providers, government officials, sharing information about the community, or contributing to economic growth. "For many Americans, a home broadband connection is a conduit for connecting to community and economic opportunity," said John B. Horrigan, Associate Director of the Pew Internet Project and principal author of the report. "That puts broadband in the 'must keep' category for most users, even when economic times are tough."