Market competition would increase Web access.(View point: the consumers union perspective)(broadband)

Being "connected" is critically important in the digital information age, as digital technologies continue to change the way we live, learn, work, and do business. But the reality is that not all Americans have convenient access to the Internet. More than 40 percent of Americans don't have even dial-up Internet access at home.

Not knowing how to use the latest Internet technologies, those Americans are lacking an important set of technical skills. This narrows their range of educational, economic, and social opportunities. Encouraging people to go to the library to use the Internet is inadequate, because ease of access is a major factor in frequency of use.

The cost of Internet access--dial-up and especially broadband--is the main obstacle to connectivity. Consumers Union believes more marketplace competition would drive down the cost of hooking up to the Internet and make access more affordable.

THE DIGITAL DIVIDE

Those who lack home access are more likely to be members of minority groups, low-income, less-educated, elderly from a Southern rural community, unemployed, or disabled, according to research by the Pew Internet and American Life Project. Income appears to be the overriding determinant of who has Internet access at home. More than 80 percent of households with incomes above $50,000 a year have it, but less than half earning under $30,000 a year do, a recent analysis by Consumers Union and the Consumer Federation of America discovered.

It's not just the families who lack access who stand to benefit from closing the divide. We all benefit from a greater-skilled and more-informed citizenry As such, closing the digital divide in the U.S. should be a national priority

HITTING THE HIGH-SPEED WALL