The ability to pay for broadband

ABSTRACT

This paper presents findings from two studies: a national study of digital inclusion programmes managed by community-based organisations in the USA that help people gain access to low-cost broadband and digital literacy skills; and a study of internet access and use in Detroit. Quantitative and qualitative methods were used to gain a deeper understanding of the ability of low-income individuals and families to spend money on broadband access at home. Findings show that although those with a limited monthly budget have an acute understanding of the value of home broadband, the costs associated with home broadband service make it difficult for them to afford. In considering this approach and its implications for digital inclusion policy in the USA, we argue that ability to pay provides a framework for understanding the local, cultural drivers and barriers to broadband adoption in low-income communities.

KEYWORDS:

• Willingness-to-pay
• broadband adoption
• digital inclusion
• lifeline
• broadband policy

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. Despite trends of increasing mobile access (Pew Research, 2018a), our paper focuses on fixed broadband, as previous research has shown that mobile access does not afford the same kinds of access and use due to data caps and device limitations (Napoli & Obar, 2014; Park, 2015; Wijetunga, 2014).

2. We considered using FCC 477 data in addition to the survey data. However, the FCC fixed broadband availability and internet use data measure availability rather than actual household connections and they rely on reporting from internet service providers (ISPs) and have been criticised for potential inaccuracies. In addition, data are only available at the census block level, which can lead to perceptions of availability for a complete census block when only one household in the census block is being served. In response to the issues with these data, the NTIA requested comments on how to improve the data in May 2018 (NTIA, 2018).

3. Additional analyses (see Reisdorf et al., 2018, p. 46) showed that income also has an indirect effect by affecting perceptions of efficiency of the internet positively and perceptions of high costs of the internet negatively. In turn, these perceptions have an additional impact on having an ISP contract.

4. The questionnaire asked participants whether their household income was far below, below, about average, above, or far above the median household income of US$26,249 in 2016 in Detroit (US Census Bureau, n.d.). While unconventional, this approach of asking for household income is far less intrusive than asking for an exact number or category and led to 0% of missing cases. Survey questionnaires that ask for income brackets often deal with around 20–30% of missing cases.

5. The survey question did not specify the length of disconnection or whether respondents re-connected.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by a grant from the Benton Foundation, Evanston, Illinois, USA and a grant from Rocket Fiber, Detroit, Michigan, USA.

Notes on contributors

Colin Rhinesmith

Colin Rhinesmith is an assistant professor in the Simmons University School of Library and Information Science. His work is focused on the social, community, and policy aspects of information and communication technology, particularly in areas related to digital equity and community technology. He has been a Google Policy Fellow and an adjunct research fellow with New America’s Open Technology Institute in Washington, D.C. He was also a faculty research fellow with the Benton Foundation and a faculty associate with the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University. Rhinesmith received his Ph.D. in Library and Information Science from the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he was an Institute of Museum and Library Services-funded Information in Society Fellow, a Researcher with the Center for People and Infrastructures, and a Research Scholar with the Center for Digital Inclusion.

Bianca Reisdorf

Bianca C. Reisdorf is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication Studies at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Her research examines digital inequalities in highly technologised countries with a focus on marginalised communities, often comparing populations across various countries. Recent publications have focused on the potential of digital media for prison populations reentering society as well as how attitudes affect internet use. She obtained her D.Phil. in Information, Communication, and the Social Sciences from the Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford. Reisdorf worked as a Lecturer and Director of Distance Learning at the University of Leicester, and as an Assistant Professor at the Department of Media and Information and the Assistant Director of the Quello Center at Michigan State University before joining UNC Charlotte.

Madison Bishop

Madison Bishop is a youth services librarian at the Plymouth Public Library in Plymouth, Massachusetts and a former graduate research assistant at the School of Library and Information Science at Simmons. Her research interests include the role of libraries in rural and exurban communities and the social and educational effects of digital inclusion in classrooms. She received her M.S. from the School of Library and Information Science at Simmons.