US Home Broadband Service Adoption, by Demographic

December 30, 2015

This article is included in these additional categories:

African-American | Digital | Hispanic | Household Income | Mobile Phone | Youth & Gen X

Pew-Home-Broadband-Use-Smartphone-Reliance-Dec2015Source: Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project [pdf]

    Notes: The percentage of American adults with broadband service at home has plateaued, reports the Pew Research Center in a recent study, as this year’s 67% with broadband is down from 70% in 2013. The drop-off has been particularly stark over the past couple of years for African-Americans (down 8% points to 54%), Hispanics (down 6% points to 50%) and 18-29-year-olds (down 6% points to 75%). These groups are among the fastest growing when it comes to smartphone reliance for home internet connectivity.

    Overall, some 13% of US adults have a smartphone but do not have home broadband service, per the report, up 5% points from 2013. The increase in “smartphone-only” adoption has been notable for groups including:

    • Parents (+7% points to 17%);
    • African-Americans (+9% points to 19%);
    • Hispanics (+7% points to 23%);
    • 18-29-year-olds (+7% points to 19%);
    • 30-49-year-olds (+7% points to 16%);
    • Those with a high school degree or less (+7% points to 18%); and
    • Those with household income less than $20k (+8% points to 21%).

    Cost is the primary reason cited by those who don’t have broadband service.

      Related: Pay-TV, Broadband Subs Continue Moving in Opposite Directions

        About the Data: Pew notes that its “analysis of change in broadband and ‘smartphone-only’ adoption from 2013 to 2015 are based on a September 2013 survey of 6,010 adults, ages 18 years and older, and combined surveys from April 2015 (1,934 adults); July 2015 (2,001 adults); and November 2015 (2,752 adults), for a total of 6,687 adult respondents.”

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