TAKING THE MEASURE OF BROADBAND

ADOPTION

How well-connected are we as a nation?

James McConnaughey, Chief EconomistOffice of Policy Analysis and Development SHLB Conference

Arlington, VAKaren Hanson, Federal Program Officer May 23, 2012Broadband Technology Opportunities Program

NTIA Data Products Availability Adoption Program Efficacy

Availability: National Broadband Map

NTIA partnership with the FCC and state and territorial governments

Granular data mapping availability for approximately 1,800 broadband providers

Visit broadbandmap.gov to explore map or download complete dataset

Adoption: What is meaningful?

Access is not adoption Subscriptions don’t tell the whole story Need to know who, where, why, and

how of actual use

CPS Computer and Internet Use SupplementData collected since 1994

How do we measure broadband adoption?

Data Collections and Reports

Falling Through the Net: November 1994

October 1997

December 1998

August 2000

A Nation Online: September 2001

October 2003

Networked Nation: October 2007

Digital Nation: October 2009

October 2010

July 2011

Comprehensive Metrics 54,000 households Data collection by

Census Bureau Focus on

meaningful adoption

Extensive Characteristics Demographics: Income, Age, Education,

Gender, Race, Disability, Employment, Household Type

Geography: Population Density, States, Regions, U.S.

Technology: Connection Type, Devices Used

Baseline Questions At home, does anyone in this household

access the Internet using… [cable, DSL, etc.]? Do you access the Internet at any of the

following locations outside the home? [work, school, etc.]

What is the main reason that you do not have high-speed Internet access at home? [not interested, too expensive, etc.]

New in 2011 When you use your cellular phone or

smartphone, do you… [browse, email, social networking, etc.]?

Do you rely on the Internet for… [work, entertainment, finance, etc.]?

Which is your PRIMARY source of news or other information? [TV, Internet, etc.]

Meaningful Broadband Adoption

Uses: rural telemedicine, urban telework, employment searches, job training

Challenges: privacy, child online safety Motivating Factors: reasons for going

online, reasons for switching providers

Flashback“The 1998 data demonstrate that community access centers are particularly well used by those groups who lack access at home or at work. These same groups (such as those with lower incomes and education levels, certain minorities, and the unemployed) are also using the Internet at higher rates to search for jobs or take courses. Providing public access to the Internet will help these groups advance economically, as well as provide them the technical skills to compete professionally in today's digital economy.” -- NTIA, Falling Through the Net (1999)

“…residents of households with no broadband primarily accessed the internet at work, school, or the public library.” -- NTIA + ESA, Exploring the Digital Nation (2011)

Data-Driven Policy: Implications of Our Research

“Don’t Need / Not Interested” Consumer education, digital literacy

“Too Expensive” Targeted support (e.g., USF)

“No / Inadequate Computer” BTOP Public Computer Centers, recycled equipment

BTOP Goals Programmatic goals

Moving people along the adoption continuum > competent, confident users

Focused training and skill-building Data collection and assessment goals

What’s working? Which audiences? How? What are the barriers?

What will BTOP teach us about adoption?

SBA data collection: Quarterly and Annual reports

ASR Analytics: case studies, best practices, and economic/social impacts

Grantee-funded evaluations (program impact, differences among methods)

BTOP Quarterly and Annual Reports Training offered:

types, hours, and participants

Subscribers Equipment

purchased Barriers to adoption Lessons learned

www2.ntia.doc.gov

BTOP Programmatic Evaluation

ASR Analytics evaluation contract Goal: to identify impacts and socioeconomic

outcomes of BTOP investment Uses case studies as well as longitudinal

econometric analysis Update: Round 1 PCC/SBA case studies

nearly complete

BTOP Grantee Strategies Common survey questions (e.g. UAC

and City of Philadelphia; Connected Living)

Common reporting platforms (e.g. CETF, One Community)

Comparative studies (One Economy)

How are grantees measuring meaningful broadband adoption?

Health Employment Family Civic engagement

Sharing Data with the Field Regular conferences and TA activities Wiki for exchange of documents NTIA Broadband Data Working Group

Wish List Harness evaluators’ and grantees’ collective

wisdom: gather and disseminate tools and data sets Agree on “common indicators” for PCC and SBA

projects Evaluation Working Group Using the new public dataset that “locates” and

describes BTOP investments (Connecting America’s Communities map): http://www2.ntia.doc.gov/BTOPmap/