Broadband Commentary from the Pew

The Pew releases another study that’s of interest to us in libraryland.
Why It Will Be Hard to Close the Broadband Divide (released Aug. 1, 2007 by John Horrigan)
“When you look at the data on Americans without broadband at home, it suggests that it will take time to get these holdouts off the digital sidelines.” It discusses thje issues of the US lagging behind somewhat other industralized nation on this ciritcal foundation piece of the new and emerging knowledge-based economy.
Ranked Broadband Subscribers Worldwide and Subscribers per 100 inhabitants
Denmark 31.9
Netherlands 31.8
Iceland 29.7
Korea 29.1
Switzerland 28.5
Norway 27.7
Finland 27.2
Sweden 26.0
Canada 23.8
Belgium 22.5
United Kingdom 21.6
Luxembourg 20.4
France 20.3
Japan 20.2
United States 19.6
Australia 19.2
Austria 17.3
Germany 17.1
Spain 15.3
Italy 14.8
Source: OECD, 2006
While it’s discouraging that Canada and the US aren’t leading here, it also implies that there is still a lot of life left in the roles libraries of all stripes play in closing the digital divide.
Of course, we also have to be cognizant that many people choose to not have broadband at home if there needs can be met at work, school or the public library. Being without home broadband does not in any way also mean being without the internet at all.
Stephen