Communicating for America (CA), a rural and Main Street advocacy organization, has released a new consumer survey to better understand how COVID-19 has affected individual communication and gauge attitudes on health coverage in the midst of a pandemic.
Here’s what they found related to broadband…
When it comes to high-speed broadband service, the survey found overall 21% of 18-65 year old Americans do not have access or are not sure if they have access. Of those who do not have access to high-speed internet, 73% report having their lives meaningfully impacted by internet connectivity in the last 12 months (compared to 54% who do have high-speed internet).
Many respondents to the survey shared ways they have been meaningfully impacted by internet connectivity issues in the past 12 months. Twenty-eight percent said communication with others is a problem, whether they had high-speed internet or not. In addition, 26% said they have connectivity issues when it came to school/education. In addition, the respondents said that internet connectivity meaningfully impacted them in the following ways:
- 25% work.
- 18% medical care.
- 16% when retail shopping.
- 15% when grocery shopping.
The disparity was especially reflected by race, education and income levels. Whites and Blacks were equally likely to have been impacted by internet connectivity within the past 12 months (51% each), but 59% of Hispanics and 67% of other non-White identifying races reported meaningful connectivity impact in the last 12-months. The survey found that 69% of those with a high school education or lower had high-speed internet, compared to 90% of those with a four-year college degree. Similarly, 70% of those making under $40,000 a year had access to high-speed broadband compared to 91% making $80,000 or more in household income.