Adoption

World Wide Web founder Sir Tim Berners-Lee has warned that the internet's power for good is being 'under threat'. The computer scientists spoke out on the Internet's 50th anniversary saying it has been 'subverted' by those spreading hatred and threatening democracy. He urged governments, campaign groups and individuals to back a new plan from his foundation to make the internet safe, fair and accessible to all.

This large-scale study explores how kids age 8 to 18 in the US use media across an array of activities and devices—including short-form, mobile-friendly platforms like YouTube—to see where they spend their time and what they enjoy most. Combined with the data from the 2015 report, the 2019 census gives us a clearer view of how young people's media use has evolved over time.

Internet use among Hispanic Americans has continued to grow, according to NTIA data, narrowing a racial disparity that has existed since NTIA began tracking adoption through its Internet Use Surveys in 1998. The proportion of Hispanic Americans using the Internet has risen from 61 percent in 2013 and 66 percent in 2015 to 72 percent in 2017, NTIA data show. Although this is still less than the 80 percent of non-Hispanic Whites online in 2017, the gap has begun to narrow.

The landscape and geography of access to high-speed internet continues to change rapidly due to economic and regulatory changes, private investments into new technology and policy proposals leading up to the 2020 presidential election. From Q2 to Q3 2019 we saw a shift towards higher speeds, but also higher prices. With respect to pricing, since our Q2 report there have been more than 700 pricing or plan updates by internet service providers. With respect to speed, this report shows that nearly every state experienced an increase in access to 500 mbps internet.

Federal data continues to show tribal lands are the least connected areas of the country. This survey found that residents on tribal lands are predominantly using smartphones to access the internet, while many are also accessing it through public Wi-Fi or at a friend/relative’s house. However, the data should not be interpreted or used to defend “mobile only” as the singular solution to providing internet service. In this study 50% of respondents stated that their internet use was limited because they did not have enough data in their cell phone plan.

Despite the growing popularity of connected devices in the home, including smart devices, streaming media players, and smart TVs, 31 percent of US households do not currently have a broadband connection (25Mbps per second download speed or greater). This equates to roughly 100 million consumers, totaling nearly one-third of the U.S.

When you visit today’s libraries, they are a long ways from the Dewey decimal system. I have observed at least four ways that libraries today are serving Americans in exciting new ways as 21st Century Community Tech Hubs, and are “meeting people where they are.” First, libraries are providing internet access to Americans who otherwise lack it—they are lending their Wi-Fi signals and, in some cases, are lending connectivity itself. Lending hot spots provides a connection when the internet is available in neighborhoods, but not at an affordable rate.

Based on what we’ve learned, we’ve formulated three basic broadband principles for community anchor institution policy.

In early 2009, Congress directed the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to develop a National Broadband Plan with a functional objective to ensure every American has “access to broadband capability.” Now, with just 165 days left before the National Broadband Plan was to meet the plan’s original stated objectives, I explore some of the key components and objectives of the plan. Ten years is a great deal of time in the telecommunications realm, and it is true that the plan asked a great deal of the FCC from the very start.

A Q&A with National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) President and Delaware CIO James Collins.