Factors influencing the adoption of residential broadband connections to the Internet

Broadband adoption has been slower than anticipated in the United States resulting in a number of proposed policy interventions ranging from nonintervention to extreme measures. Digital divide advocates are concerned that demographics of broadband users reveal the same digital divide gaps that are observed in computer ownership and home Internet access. This study analyzes the factors influencing the adoption of residential broadband services using the current population survey data from September 2001. Three statistical models on computer ownership, home Internet access, and broadband access are analyzed to illustrate the differences in demographics between the dependent variables. Using a logit regression model, the results show that the digital divide is the widest for computer ownership and the narrowest for broadband access. The implications of this study are that public policy interventions to bridge the digital divide should focus more on computer ownership, and less on broadband specific policies.