National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA)

In its third report in the Falling Through the Net series, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) reports that a serious gap exists between this country's "haves" and the "have nots" when it comes to access to computers and the Internet. The report's introduction notes that this digital divide is "now one of America's leading economic and civil rights issues." Minorities, people with low incomes, the less educated, children in single—parent households, and those living in rural areas or the inner city most often lack access to information technologies. Using 1998 U.S. Census Bureau data, the NTIA prepared a detailed report of more than one hundred pages. The portions excerpted below provide an overview of the problem and suggest ways in which government at all levels can...