Study Examines Whether Broadband Redlining Exists
WASHINGTON
Among the latest concerns of those seeking to bridge the technology gap between poor and affluent Americans is the availability of access to broadband, or high-speed, Internet service. A December 2001 study released by the AEI-Brookings Joint Center for Regulatory Studies has analyzed whether redlining is being practiced by broadband carriers to avoid areas with high concentrations of poor and minority households. Using a comprehensive U.S. data set covering DSL and cable modem services, James E. Prieger, the study’s author, found little evidence of redlining based on income or on Black or Hispanic concentration. He concluded there was mixed evidence of redlining based on American Indian or Asian concentration. Other study findings showed that inner-city or rural locations of residents decreased the probability that access to high-speed Internet was available.
The study is titled “The Supply Side of the Digital Divide: Is There Redlining in the Broadband Internet Access Market?” It can be viewed at the following address <www.aei.brookings.org/publications/abstract.asp?pID=186>
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