Broadband Adoption Gap Analysis of California

Based on consumer connection and broadband deployment data collected by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), as of Dec 31, 2017, the CA statewide adoption rate is 87.3% at speeds exceeding 200 kilobits per second (Kbps) in at least one direction, or 80.2% at California Advanced Servies Fund (CASF) served speeds of 6 megabits per second (Mbps) down and 1 Mbps up. Even with internet usage and adoption rates increasing at home, our analysis finds that gaps still exist for some households based on certain demographic characteristics. This analysis finds that
characteristics including poverty/income, ethnicity/race, primary language, education and those living in rural areas are highly correlated to low adoption rates. Other demographic characteristics such as age, household size, and home ownership were also contributing factors, however, they do not appear to be as significant at the census tract level. Above all, we observe that the most constant and significant factor affecting adoption is income.