Today's Date: March 28, 2024
PRIVATE SCHOOL VILLAGE (PSV) AWARDS INAUGURAL ELEMENTARY-SCHOOL SCHOLARSHIPS   •   The Lenserf Group Launches Emotional Intelligence Academy for HBCU Interns   •   Lenzing strives to drive beneficial transformation across the value chain   •   Lightshift Energy Raises $100 Million From Greenbacker Capital Management to Expand Utility Scale Battery Storage Across North A   •   Fox Lake Grade School District 114 Selects Varsity Tutors for Schools to Provide Students with Additional Learning Resources   •   3EO Health Announces the First Point of Care Molecular Test Under $15   •   Latest U.S. Soybean Field Trials by Texas Crop Science Deliver Average Yield Increase of More Than 20%   •   Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine and Palantir Partner to Create Safe Conditions for In-Person Education in Schools   •   Chris Diehl Returns to 101 Mobility as Director of National Accounts   •   Avnos and Deep Sky Forge Path to Gigaton-Scale Carbon Removal in Canada   •   Clean Energy Appoints Patrick J. Ford to Board of Directors   •   Government of Canada signs two bilateral agreements with Quebec to support initiatives to improve health care   •   Apogee Enterprises Schedules Fourth Quarter Fiscal Year 2024 Earnings Release and Conference Call   •   Cardinal Tobin Blesses New Open-Air Mausoleum of the Holy Spirit Site   •   Stora Enso publishes Green and Sustainability-Linked Financing Report 2023   •   Netcracker Continues Its Support of the U.S. Paralympic Ski and Snowboard Team at Adaptive Spirit 2024   •   Nutrex-Hawaii Introduces Its #1 Selling BioAstin® Hawaiian Astaxanthin® in a Retail-Ready, Sugar-Free, Vegan Gummy Forma   •   Parental avoidance of toxic exposures could help prevent autism, ADHD in children, new study shows   •   Guo Guangchang: "Focus on building sustainable, predictable and enterprise with stable profit growth "   •   The Home Depot Announces Agreement to Acquire SRS Distribution, a Leading Specialty Trade Distributor Across Multiple Verticals;
Bookmark and Share

Less Than Half Of African Americans And Hispanics Regularly Use The Internet

 Less than Half of African Americans and Hispanics Regularly Use the Internet Yet Overwhelming Majority Agrees that Internet Access is Critical to Success in Education, Business, Community and Family Life

 

New Findings of Groundbreaking National Survey on Minority Internet Use from Cornell Belcher – Former DNC and Obama Presidential Campaign Pollster – To Be Discussed at Internet Innovation Alliance Broadband Symposium Today in Washington, D.C.

 

Free Digital Literacy Programs More Valuable to Hispanics and African Americans than Free Internet Access

 

California State Assembly Speaker Emeritus Fabian Núñez, Rey Ramsey, CEO of Nonprofit OneEconomy, among Speakers Addressing Opportunities and Advantages of Broadband Internet

 

WASHINGTON D.C. – December 10, 2009 – Only 42 percent of African Americans and Hispanics regularly use the Internet, yet they overwhelmingly agree that Internet access is critical to achieving success, according to new findings from a national survey of 900 minority adults conducted by Brilliant Corners Research, led by Pollster Cornell Belcher. The results from this survey will be revealed today in Washington, D.C., at the Internet Innovation Alliance’s (IIA) Symposium, “Universal Broadband:  Access for All Americans.”

 

Featured keynote speaker and highly-regarded Democratic pollster Cornell Belcher will address the poll results and shed light on the lessons that can be extrapolated to accelerate progress in closing the digital divide.

 

“In this groundbreaking survey we found that members in two of the country’s largest minority communities believe that Internet access is essential for many critical daily activities, including staying in touch with family, online education and research, job hunting and networking, and accessing information about health care, weather and traffic,” said Belcher, principal author of the report.  “And yet alarmingly, less than half – 42 percent – of the same demographic regularly uses the Internet.”

 

Members of African American and Hispanic communities believe in the value of high-speed broadband Internet, as opposed to outdated, slower dial-up service. In fact, nearly one-in-five respondents (18%) identified ‘speed of connection’ as the one thing they would change to make it easier to access the Internet – even more so than if Internet access were free (10%).

 

“It’s extremely important to note that the top answer given by those polled for how to ‘make it easier to access the Internet’ was [faster] speed of connection,” said IIA Co-Chairman Bruce Mehlman. “Policy makers working toward universal broadband must understand that speed of connections – achieved via robust investments in infrastructure and effective network management – are essential for both access and adoption.”

 

For an open-ended question on ‘one thing you could change that would make you more likely to want to access the Internet,’ affordability ranked near the top of the list. This result points to the fact that many groups are price-sensitive and that higher costs of broadband access could hurt adoption if communities of color are deterred from capitalizing on the benefits of high-speed Internet.

 

"It is very telling that of those respondents who do not have Internet access, 43 percent cited either not knowing how to use the Internet or not seeing the need for the Internet as the reason why they are not online," said IIA Co-Chairman David Sutphen. “But interestingly, 44 percent of these same respondents said they would be more likely to subscribe to Internet services if they were provided free lessons on how to use the technology and 30 percent would be more likely to adopt if they had more information about how they could benefit from going online. It’s clear that digital literacy programs indeed are a crucial part of the formula for closing the digital divide.”

 

Poll respondents strongly agree on several Internet-enabled, life-changing benefits that make access so valuable:

 

* More than 60 percent (64%) of those polled strongly believe the Internet is important, because students with access can receive tutoring and help with their homework.

* Forty-three percent of respondents strongly agree that students with Internet access achieve higher grades.

* More than three in five (61%) strongly feel households with Internet access have greater access to commerce, education, health care, entertainment and communication.
* Approximately half (48%) strongly agree that Internet is valuable, because tech-connected families receive more health information.

* More than 60 percent (62%) strongly believe individuals with Internet access have more opportunities to work from home.

* Nearly seven in ten (68%) respondents strongly agree that small business owners with Internet access are better able to reach and expand their customer base.

* One in two (51%) strongly feel Internet access increases awareness and access to government services.

 

Most of the respondents said they accessed the Internet from home –  78 percent – and slightly more than two-thirds (68%) said they access the Internet from a private portal, as opposed to a public portal, such as at anchor institutions like the library.

 

“It is clear that home Internet connections are critically important to expanding broadband access and adoption in communities of color,” said Sutphen.  “Policy makers would be wise to keep this reality in mind as they consider ways to continue closing the digital divide and ensure that all Americans can benefit from broadband."

 

Congressional approval of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) allocated $7.2 billion for broadband development and charged the FCC with creating a national broadband plan, due to Congress in February 2010. According to the IIA, an effective National Broadband Strategy will enable the government to partner with the private sector to extend broadband service to every corner of the country, while at the same time raising awareness of its benefits.

 

The IIA Symposium today will feature leaders and innovators specialized in leveraging high-speed broadband Internet to enhance the lives of the disadvantaged, such as California State Assembly Speaker Emeritus Fabian Núñez and Rey Ramsey, CEO of nonprofit organization OneEconomy, which equips low-income communities with the power and promise of the Internet.

 

Through discussions led by top minds in the technology field, the symposium will examine the opportunities and advantages broadband Internet brings to education, job searching, creation and training, health care, community building, entertainment and civic participation; wireless Internet as a bridge over the digital divide; the benefits of online content for minority communities; the economic impacts of broadband deployment; the future of broadband technology; and the likely impact of government actions to promote or diminish broadband deployment and adoption.

 

Other participants in today’s broadband symposium include Jeff Johnson, The Truth with Jeff Johnson; Denmark West, BET; Jimmy Lynn, JLynn Associates; Maria Teresa Petersen, Voto Latino; Dr. Joseph P. Fuhr, Widener University, American Consumer Institute; Dr. Elaine Kamarck, Harvard Kennedy School; Brian Foley, Northern Virginia Community College, Medical Education Campus; Valerie Fast Horse, Coeur D’Alene Tribe; Paul Schroeder, American Foundation for the Blind; and Navarrow Wright, Maximum Leverage Solutions.

 

The IIA Symposium begins at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time at the Newseum in Washington, D.C. A live webcast of the event is available via the Internet Innovation Alliance website at http://www.internetinnovation.org/activities/Broadband-Symposium.  The IIA’s blog “The Podium” will also feature symposium updates in real-time. 

 

# # #

Methodology

These findings are from a survey conducted by brilliant corners Research & Strategies on behalf of the IIA, which reached 700 African American and 200 Hispanic adults over the age of 18 using professional telephone interviewers from December 1 through December 7, 2009. The data was weighted slightly by gender, age, race and region to more closely reflect the general population. The margin of error for the combined sample is +/-3.3%.  

 

About The Internet Innovation Alliance

The Internet Innovation Alliance is a broad-based coalition of business and non-profit organizations that aim to ensure every American, regardless of race, income or geography, has access to the critical tool that is broadband Internet. The IIA seeks to promote public policies that support equal opportunity for universal broadband availability and adoption so that everyone, everywhere can seize the benefits of the Internet – from education to health care, employment to community building, civic engagement and beyond.

 

For more information contact:

Lauren DuBois

(212) 446-1865

LDuBois@sloanepr.com

---

 

Symposium Agenda

 

9:00 a.m.    Welcome Remarks                  

David Sutphen, Co-Chair, Internet Innovation Alliance

 

Keynote Speaker

Cornell Belcher, President, Brilliant Corners Research & Strategies

 

Panel I:  Bridging the Digital Divide: Wireless and Compelling Content

Jeff Johnson, Managing Editor and Chief Correspondent, The Truth with Jeff Johnson (Moderator)

Derek Douglas, Special Assistant to the President for Urban Affairs

Jimmy Lynn, Managing Partner, JLynn Associates

Maria Teresa Kumar, Executive Director, Voto Latino

Denmark West, President of Digital Media, BET

 

10:45 a.m. Break

 

Keynote Speaker

Rey Ramsey, CEO, One Economy Corporation

 

Panel II:  The Economic Impact of Broadband on Job Creation and Entrepreneurship

Karen Finney, Democratic Consultant (Moderator)

Dr. Joseph P. Fuhr, Professor of Economics, Widener University, and Senior Fellow, American

Consumer Institute

Dr. Elaine Kamarck, Lecturer in Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School

Brian Foley, Interim Provost, Northern Virginia Community College, Medical Education Campus

Marcia Thomas-Brown, Project Manager, Summit Health Institute for Research and Education

 

12:15 p.m. Lunch

 

Keynote Speaker

Fabian Núñez, Speaker Emeritus, California State Assembly

 

Panel III: Bringing Broadband to All Americans: Future Benefits of Technology and Applications

      Jamal Simmons, Political Strategist and Media Consultant (Moderator)

Valerie Fast Horse, IT Director, Coeur D’Alene Tribe

Paul Schroeder, Vice President, Programs and Policy Group, American Foundation for the Blind

Deborah Taylor Tate, Former Commissioner, Federal Communications Commission

Navarrow Wright, President, Maximum Leverage Solutions

 

2:00 p.m. Closing Remarks

Bruce Mehlman, Co-Chair, Internet Innovation Alliance

 

---

 

 

Melissa L. McKay

Sloane & Company

mmckay@sloanepr.com

212.446.1898 o  415.806.1216 c

 



Back to top
| Back to home page
Video

White House Live Stream
LIVE VIDEO EVERY SATURDAY
alsharpton Rev. Al Sharpton
9 to 11 am EST
jjackson Rev. Jesse Jackson
10 to noon CST


Video

LIVE BROADCASTS
Sounds Make the News ®
WAOK-Urban
Atlanta - WAOK-Urban
KPFA-Progressive
Berkley / San Francisco - KPFA-Progressive
WVON-Urban
Chicago - WVON-Urban
KJLH - Urban
Los Angeles - KJLH - Urban
WKDM-Mandarin Chinese
New York - WKDM-Mandarin Chinese
WADO-Spanish
New York - WADO-Spanish
WBAI - Progressive
New York - WBAI - Progressive
WOL-Urban
Washington - WOL-Urban

Listen to United Natiosns News