21st Century America's Progress Towards Universal Broadband Internet Access

How many people do have a high-speed connection in the United States?

That question pretends to be addressed with the research preview released last month by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration: Digital Nation: 21st Century America’s Progress Toward Universal Broadband Internet Access. The document[pdf] provides insight into broadband access, demographic information, and the “digital divide” throughout the United States.

"Although life without high-speed Internet service seems unimaginable for many Americans, for too many others, broadband is still unattainable. As the world leader in technology innovation and the place where the Internet was pioneered, we can and must do better. This report will help identify both the gaps in Internet access and the reasons people that have such access are choosing not to use it," writes Lawrence E. Strickling, the Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information (U.S. Department of Commerce) in the Foreword of the preview research. 

The U.S. Department of Commerce will have a more detailed analysis and report later this year. 

Gary Locke, the U.S. Commerce Secretary, is quoted by MinuteBio when he stresses the importance of internet access: "In a globalized 21st-century economy, when you don’t have regular access to high-speed Internet, you don’t have access to all the educational, business and employment opportunities it provides."