FALLING THROUGH THE NET: DEFINING THE DIGITAL DIVIDE, July 1999

This report on the telecommunications and information technology gap in America provides comprehensive data on the level of access by Americans to telephones, computers, and the Internet. It includes valuable information about where Americans are gaining access, what they are doing with their online connections, and provides trendline information since 1984. According to the report, the number of Americans accessing the Internet has grown rapidly in the last year; yet, in the midst of this general expansion, the "digital divide" between information "haves" and "have nots" continues to widen.

Overview:

Native Americans (American Indians, Eskimos, and Aleuts) rank far below the national average in their access to telephones, computers, and the Internet. Rural Native American households are particularly lagging in connectivity. Some Native Americans are making use of community access centers to gain access to the Internet, however. In fact, Native Americans using the Internet outside the home are particularly frequent users of the Kindergarten-12^th grade(K-12) school.

Highlights:

• For telephone penetration, rural Native American households (76.4%) rank far below the national average (94.1%).
• Rural Native American households' access to computers (26.8%) is also lower than the national average (42.1%)
• Overall, Native Americans are also behind in their access to the Internet (18.9%), compared to the national average (26.2%).

Significant Findings:

Like many other minority groups, Native Americans are not able to access the important information resources via computers and on the Internet that are quickly becoming essential for success. In the past, because of small sample sizes, it has been hard to pinpoint Native Americans' access to new technologies. The third Falling Through the Net report, however, has provided enough information to show that Native Americans, like Blacks and Hispanics, are, in fact, suffering from a lack of connectivity. Their propensity to use the Internet outside the home, though, underscores the importance of making more community access centers available.

For Details, contact: Mary Hanley, (202) 482-2075 or Kelly Levy, (202) 482-1880
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Source: http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/digitaldivide/factsheets/native-americans.htm