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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