US Internet Adoption and Efforts to Boost IT

[Commentary] Although we may take for granted these days that “everyone uses the Internet,” recent headlines demonstrate that Internet and broadband adoption are not yet universal and much work still needs to be done if the U.S. is going to realize the full benefit of these powerful tools. Without broadband, people and businesses are cut off from the $8 trillion global Internet economy, limiting opportunities for jobs and economic prosperity. Although the data pertains to respondents' access as of October 2010, the findings would still appear to support the relatively urgent efforts of several federal agencies — particularly the Federal Communications Commission — to narrow the gap in Internet adoption through initiatives stemming from the National Broadband Plan.