PCCA Journal|1
st
Quarter 2011
18
findings from the survey, showing that
while virtually all demographic groups
have experienced rising broadband in-
ternet adoption at home and 64 percent
of households overall have broadband at
home, historic disparities among demo-
graphic groups have persisted over time.
The principal findings of the report
are:
•
Seven out of ten American households
used the internet in 2009. The major-
ity of these households used broad-
band to access the internet at home.
Almost one-fourth of all households,
however, did not have an internet
user.
•
Income and education are strongly as-
sociated with broadband internet use
at home but are not the sole determi-
nants.
•
Broadband internet adoption was
higher among White households than
among Black and Hispanic house-
holds. Differences in socio-economic
attributes do not explain the entire gap
associated with race and ethnicity.
•
A similar pattern holds for urban and
rural locations. Urban residents were
more likely than their rural counter-
parts to adopt broadband internet,
even after accounting for socio-eco-
nomic differences.
•
Lack of need or interest, lack of afford-
ability, lack of an adequate computer,
and lack of availability were all stated
as the main reasons for not having
home broadband internet access. The
significance of these factors, however,
varied across non-users, with afford-
ability and demand generally dominat-
ing.
•
Internet non-users reported lack of
need or interest as their primary
reason for not having broadband at
home. This group accounted for two-
thirds of those who don’t have broad-
band at home. In contrast, households
that did not use the internet specifi-
cally at home but did use the internet
elsewhere ranked affordability as the
primary deterrent to home broadband
adoption. This group represented
almost one-fourth of those who don’t
have broadband at home.
•
Households that use dial-up service
cited affordability as the main reason
for not adopting broadband at home.
For rural residents using dial-up
service, lack of broadband availability
was reported as a significant factor.
•
Between 2001 and 2009, broadband
internet use among households rose
sevenfold, from 9 percent to 64 per-
cent of American households.
•
Some of the demographic groups that
had lower-than-average adoption rates
in 2001 have since shown impressive
gains, but sizable gaps remain among
demographic groups defined by in-
come, education, race, and ethnicity.
Similarly, despite gains in adoption
rates within geographic areas, sig-
nificant gaps in adoption still persist
among the states, some regions, and
between urban and rural locations.
Central Indiana Power
Paves the Way for Fiber-
Based Smart Grid
C
entral Indiana Power (CIP)
is deploying a fiber-based
smart grid that sets a prec-
edent for how regional tele-
communications and electric coopera-
tives can work together to provide rural
customers with broadband connectivity
and advanced energy management
capabilities.
CIP is partnering with Hancock Tele-
com, a local communications coopera-
tive, to leverage Hancock’s fiber-to-the-
home) network for smart metering as
well as prepare for the demand response
initiatives proposed by Wabash Val-
ley Power Association, which provides
power to CIP and other utilities in the
region.
Eric Murray, president and CEO of
technology-platform provider Tantalus,
predicted that mutually beneficial busi-
ness arrangements between telecom
providers and electric cooperatives will
become common at utilities like CIP,
which serves 12,000 homes, businesses,
and farms in a fast-growing community
25 miles east of Indianapolis.
“It’s natural for telecoms and utilities
to work together,” Murray said. “Many
telecoms already supply their local elec-
tric co-op with wireless or wired con-
nectivity to substations. By collaborating
with Hancock, CIP can extend con-
nectivity to other points in the distribu-
tion network via the telecom’s existing
infrastructure. It’s a logical next step that
will accelerate smart grid rollout, avoids
the cost and complexity of building and
maintaining two separate communica-
tions networks, and consolidates billing,
customer service, and many other busi-
ness functions under one roof.”
Although CIP did not receive federal
grant money, Murray said the deploy-
ment ties together the objectives of both
the Department of Energy’s ARRA Smart
Grid stimulus program and the Depart-
ment of Agriculture’s Broadband Initia-
tive Program by bringing high-band-
width communications and advanced
energy management capabilities to a
rural community.
“Fiber supports data intensive applica-
tions including customer signaling and
load control, which require rapid and
reliable two-way interaction between the
operations center and each customer,”
Murray said. “Capacity is virtually limit-
less, so more and more devices such as
smart appliances will be able to commu-
nicate over the network without the risk
of data congestion. It’s a future friendly
solution.”
News Briefs
Continued from page 17