Since statistics were first gathered on Internet and broadband usage, the national data showed sizeable disparities in broadband usage between some minorities and whites.106 Possible reasons for these broadband gaps include lack of computer ownership, low income, and (in
105
Refer to the discussion of the problematic demographic data for 2010 and 2011 in section II.D.1.b. In the earlier years there is also steady growth in rural adoption, but there is an apparent but meaningless downward shift in the period that the total rural population figures also change.
106
This paragraph and the next draw heavily on Prieger (2015). Otherwise unattributed statistics are from that article. 44% 46% 48% 50% 52% 54%
Dec 2011 Jun 2012 Dec 2012 Jun 2013 Dec 2013
Fr ac tion o f p o p u lation
112 earlier years) lack of broadband availability.107 The NTIA (2011) concluded that when compared with whites, “[s]ignificant disparities … remained [in 2010] among other race and ethnic groups [excepting Asian and white non-Hispanics], with none exceeding broadband use of greater than 50 percent” (p.11). While there had been growth in broadband use for African Americans and Hispanics during the period 2007 to 2010, that growth stalled nationally between 2010 and 2011 (Prieger, 2015).
The groups particularly at risk of lacking access to broadband in the home include African Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans. In July 2011, the overall broadband adoption rate in America was 65%, while white non-Hispanics had a greater likelihood of home broadband access (71%). Hispanics and Native Americans had the lowest usage (49%), with usage among blacks only slightly higher (52%). Broadband usage gaps for blacks have been found since the early days of broadband in the home (Hu and Prieger, 2009). Although some of the broadband gaps for minorities are caused by lower incomes, income alone does not fully explain the broadband digital divide. In 2011, among members of households earning less than $20,000, 31% of blacks and 25% of Hispanics used broadband at home, compared with 43% of white non- Hispanics. Clearly factors other than income contribute toward the gaps. Similarly, differences in education do not explain the entire usage gap between whites and non-whites either. Among high-school dropouts in 2011, 23% each of African Americans and Hispanics used broadband at home, which lags usage by white dropouts (35%).108
Turn now to the recent situation in California. The most recently available American Community Survey from the Census Bureau asks respondents for the first time about broadband access in the home. The survey responses allow investigation of broadband access in minority households in California. Note that questions in the survey about broadband access pertain to the entire household, and information about which members use which types of broadband, if any, is not available. Thus the statistics in this section and the next are for people living in households with broadband, with no guarantee that each household member actually uses any particular mode of broadband to access the Internet.
Table 7 shows the proportion of people living in households with various forms of broadband access, for all residents and by race and Hispanic ethnicity. Overall, 80% of Californians are estimated to have access to broadband in the home. The figure is about the same for, higher for non-Hispanic whites, Asian and multiracial residents, and lower for blacks, Native Americans, and Hispanics. The gaps between whites on the one hand and blacks, Native Americans, and Hispanics on the other hand range from 14 to 16 percentage points, which (based on the review of the digital divide in earlier years above) is evidence of some narrowing of these gaps. As recently as 2011, the national broadband access gap between whites and others were 18 points for African Americans and 23 points for Hispanics (Prieger, 2015).
107 See Prieger and Hu (2008) for a review of the literature on minorities and broadband usage and access. 108
Gant et al. (2010) also show that the differential Internet adoption rates of minorities are not explained solely by rural versus non-rural location, for blacks and Hispanics lagged whites in both areas.
113
Table 7: Broadband Adoption in California by race and ethnicity, 2013 Any Broadband Fixed Broadband Mobile Broadband Mobile Broadband Only Mobile BB Only ÷ Any BB
percent percent percent percent percent
total (1000s) total (1000s) total (1000s) total (1000s)
All Californians 80.3% 74.9% 39.3% 5.4% 6.7% 30,129.5 28,108.6 14,747.1 2,020.9 White Non-Hispanic 86.8% 82.3% 43.9% 4.4% 5.1% 12,630.0 11,986.5 6,395.4 643.5 Black 72.5% 66.1% 33.5% 6.5% 8.9% 1,485.31 1,353.29 686.13 132.02 Native American 70.7% 64.2% 35.8% 6.5% 9.3% 93.0 84.4 47.1 8.6 Asian 89.0% 85.7% 44.3% 3.4% 3.8% 4,630.5 4,455.2 2,301.7 175.3 Multiracial 88.8% 83.5% 50.4% 5.4% 6.0% 1,439.9 1,344.3 812.5 95.6 Hispanic 71.2% 64.3% 32.9% 6.9% 9.7% 9,316.3 4,771.6 1,004.1 3,836.7
Notes: Figures are calculated by the author using data from the 2013 American Community Survey (1 year estimates). Column labeled “Mobile BB Only ÷ Any BB” is the proportion of people with access to broadband for whom mobile broadband is their only mode of access available in the home. The categories for each race exclude those of Hispanic ethnicity. The row for Hispanics includes all those who identify with Hispanic ethnicity, regardless of race. The category for Native American includes American Indians and Alaskan Natives. The category for Asian includes Hawaiian Natives and Pacific Islanders. Statistics are weighted to be representative of California’s population.
Regardless of race or ethnicity, most households with broadband access subscribe to fixed broadband. Overall, 75% of the population is in households with fixed broadband access, an estimate that is close to the household subscribership ratio of 78% from the FCC (2014a).109 However, the reliance on mobile broadband is heavier for some minority groups. People living in African American, Native American, and Hispanic households are more likely than whites to have access to mobile broadband and not fixed broadband (column four of Table 7), even though each of these minority groups is less likely to have any form of broadband access (column one). Similarly, when looking at the fraction of people in households with broadband access who rely on mobile broadband exclusively, the final column of Table 7, Native Americans have the highest relative reliance on mobile, at almost 11%. Hispanics (9.7%) and blacks (9.0%) also have a higher relative reliance on mobile broadband than do whites (7.1%). These figures again point to the high importance that mobile broadband can play in minorities’ lives.
109 Discrepancies between the two estimates are due to differences in household size between adopters
and non-adopters, the fact that no specific speed threshold was given to survey respondents to define broadband while the FCC used the 200 kbps standard, and estimation error, inter alia.
114 Alternative data from the Pew Research Center show that even starker differences concerning mobile broadband exist among whites, blacks, and Hispanics when it comes to actual Internet usage (as opposed to access in the household). In 2013, while 59% of whites stated that they go online using their mobile phone, 74% of blacks and 68% of Hispanics were mobile Internet users via their phone (Duggan and Smith, 2013). Even greater differences arise when asking about the Internet access mode of choice. Only 27% of whites stated that they go online mostly using their cell phone, but 43% of African Americans and 60% of Hispanics responded that they most often go online using their cell phone.