Home Broadband 2015

Interesting information on the state of broadband in the US via the Pew Research Center.  The information can be a little misleading though. Yes it is easily understandable that many adults are switching from broadband to "smartphone only" - for people who grew up playing games on Nintendo Game Boy-like devices the screens on a smartphone are big enough for pretty much all needs. And why pay for both a cell bill and a broadband bill when money is tight and the smartphone can do pretty much all you need?

What I find misleading is the fact that people choosing a smartphone only life had the option to have broadband in the first place. That's not the case for many rural Americans.  How can you be part of the 15% of American adults that cut the cord if you never had a cord to begin with? I had particular issue with this passage:

Large numbers of non-broadband households have never had home high-speed service in the past, and few have interest in subscribing in the future.

Overall, 33% of American adults do not have broadband at home. Within this group of non-adopters, 36% had a subscription in the past, while 59% say they have never had a broadband subscription plan at home. In addition, just 25% of non-adopters are interested in subscribing to broadband service in the future, while 70% say they are not interested in doing so.

Communities that have never had broadband - either from cable or from incumbent telephone companies - those numbers would easily be inverted with 70% or greater wanting broadband service. Adults in communities without broadband could easily be counted as "smartphone only" because they have a smartphone they bring with them to work. The digital divide is a very real problem in this country.