Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Report Spotlights Deplorable State of Broadband in Indian Country

Broadband penetration in Indian Country is estimated at less than 10 percent, according to a report by Native Public Media and the New America Foundation’s Open Technology Initiative.

The report, titled New Media, Technology and Internet Use in Indian Country: Quantitative and Qualitative Analyses and released on Nov. 19, includes a survey of Native American technology use normed against other national surveys as well as case studies of six successful projects, efforts to close the digital divide on tribal lands.

Native Americans live in communities where broadband often is unavailable or unaffordable, a press release announcing the report stated. Adding to the problem is a lack of data on Native broadband adoption, availability and connectivity.

Loris Taylor, executive director of Native Public Media, said in the release, "I've visited Native communities where Internet black holes exist because broadband deployment either ignored them or simply went around them. For the first time in history, we have solid broadband data that underscores the fact that Native Americans are using the Internet when they have access to it and building their own tribal centric broadband highways when no one else will.”

To view the report, click here.

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