Equal Opportunity Speedway

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY SPEEDWAY
[SOURCE: BusinessWeek, AUTHOR: ]
Speedy Internet connections once were considered perks for the privileged. Robust Net access was enjoyed by 30% of U.S. households as late as 2005, mostly in white homes. Meanwhile, so-called broadband adoption by blacks was a mere 14%, according to data from the Pew Internet & American Life Project. The resulting "digital divide" between white and black was considered a lasting socioeconomic problem--like the protracted disparity between black and white unemployment. But in the past two years, African Americans have been devouring broadband technology--and the digital divide has shrunk significantly, at least for this group. The share of black households with a cable modem, DSL, or satellite Internet connection climbed to 40% this year, Pew says. That's almost twice as fast as the growth of broadband penetration for the general population, which grew to 47%. The income gap has narrowed, too, but not as much: Households making less than $30,000 a year doubled their broadband participation, to 30%. That still pales next to 76% for households that have incomes of at least $75,000. Some of the closing of the racial divide can be traced to falling prices and rising availability of new technology. But that masks a deeper shift in the relationship of blacks to the Web. The Net today offers an abundance of entertainment riches--digital music, pictures, movies, video chat, games--that can be tailored to individual taste, not to mention services such as job networks and training. Gaining access to that killer content without broadband speeds would be like sucking hot fudge through a straw.
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_21/b4035061.htm?campaign...