Strikingly, research shows that despite the lower rates of adoption of and skills with information technologies among African Americans and Hispanics, they view computers and the Internet more favorably than whites.

In 2009 broadband service was present in 65 percent of white households, 46 percent of African American households, 68 percent of English speaking Hispanic households, but only 48 percent of all Hispanic households.

The Current Population Survey’s 2009 Internet Use Supplement found that African Americans trailed whites in home broadband adoption by nearly twenty percentage points (65 versus 45 percent), and Hispanic subscribers lagged even further behind at just under 40 percent.

Adoption by African-Americans showed no significant growth and the gap between African- Americans and whites widened in both 2008 and 2009.

When asked about home broadband download speed, 87% of African Americans do not know their home connection speed.

According to an FCC report, while 65 percent of all adults get broadband, 49 percent of African Americans and 49 percent of Hispanics get the service.

That is up from 47% who had high-speed access at home last year at this time. From March 2006 to March 2007, home broadband adoption grew from 42% of Americans to 47%. With growth in broadband at home, now just 10% of Americans have dial-up internet connections at home. 25% of low-income Americans – those whose household incomes are $20,000 annually or less – reported having broadband at home in April 2008. This compares to the 28% figure reported in March 2007 among those living in households whose annual incomes are $20,000 or less.