Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009
By Mercy Gakii, Reporter-Researcher, BroadbandCensus.com
WASHINGTON, September 22, 2009 – Federal Communications Commissioner Mignon Clyburn said Monday that a large percentage of African Americans still have not made the use of the Internet a priority in their lives, especially at home.
Speaking Monday at the Media and Policy Institute policy forum that discussed a national broadband plan, Clyburn pointed out that the use of mobile telephone services has been well received by the African-American community, although the reception for internet services is less than impressive.
Only 46 per cent of African-Americans use broadband in their homes, while only 63 per cent of Americans have subscribed to broadband, she said.
“The world is fast becoming dependent on the use of internet for almost all their services, and community access to broadband is a great equalizer.”
She cited the use of broadband to make services, such as telemedicine, available to the users in South Carolina. It was one example of a reason to adopt the use of broadband to improve their lifestyles.
The biggest block to access of broadband in homes is the challenge of relevance. Even though costs of running the service are high, many African-American homes still have no access to the Internet and broadband in...
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