The Broadband Have-Nots

Millions of Americans—many of them also residents of the inner city—remain on the other side of the chasm that separates those who have high-speed Internet access from those who don't. President-elect Barack Obama has taken to delivering a weekly address not only over the radio but also through videos on Google's (GOOG) YouTube. Yet almost half of U.S. adults don't have the necessary broadband connections that make it easy to view those messages, according to recent data from the Pew Internet & American Life Project. A survey by the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation ranked the U.S. 15th on household broadband penetration, having slipped from fourth place in 2001, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development. (Denmark ranked No. 1.)

In a Dec. 6 speech, Obama called the current state of U.S. broadband access "unacceptable" and said plans to "renew our Information Superhighway" would be a priority of his Administration. To deliver, Obama will need to address the wide swaths of the U.S. that remain unconnected. In some places—most of them rural areas with low population density—people who are willing to pay for service can't get it because telecom providers can't justify the necessary investment.

In the case of the urban poor, service may be readily available, but many families can't afford the $30 to $50 it costs each month to get broadband. Many also lack computers at home. Among households with an annual income of $50,000 or less—about half the country—only 35% have broadband service, according to Free Press, a technology advocacy group. Households with annual incomes above $50,000 are more than twice as likely to have broadband service.

Why Home Access Is Essential

For some people, there's no substitute for having access at home. "It's pathetic trying to research health issues on a computer in a library with no privacy and a 30-minute limit," McConnell says. Having a computer at home made all the difference for 17-year-old Christine Davis, the daughter of Jamaican immigrants and a regular at a computer clubhouse run by HCCI. Her family bought its first PC this year. "Having it [at home] is a big help with homework," says Davis, a resident of Bradhurst. "When I didn't have it, it was so frustrating, and I can work on college applications late at night." Getting to a computer outside the home can be especially difficult in neighborhoods like Davis's where gangs are active.

OneEconomy also tries to ensure that computer users in low-income areas have useful content, wherever they log on. TheBeehive.org contains articles and demonstrations on such practical matters as writing a check and using a debit card. Another site, Public Internet Channel, hosts video programming, including an upcoming 12-part dramatic series called Diary of a Single Mom that chronicles the lives of three women raising children on their own. It begins Jan. 27. The point, says OneEconomy Chief Executive Officer Rey Ramsey, is to encourage adoption of broadband among low-income people. "You have to give them a reason to think this is something that will help their lives in a meaningful way," he says.

Research also points to educational benefits. One study by the University of California at Santa Cruz in 2004 found that nearly half of high school graduates who had computers and Internet access at home went on to college. Among students who didn't have computers and Internet access, the college enrollment rate fell to one in four. "Kids who have access at home can do things like search for scholarships and apply for college and for financial aid more easily than kids who don't," McEwen says. "When kids have access at home it gives them a different outlook on school. It broadens their horizons. They tend to think more about life beyond the neighborhood."

Hesseldahl is a reporter for BusinessWeek.com.