California Broadband Adoption by the Numbers
CETF developed and sponsors the Statewide Survey on Broadband Adoption to track high-speed Internet at home and drive policy and action. The survey shows significant progress is being made. Between 2008 and 2021, home broadband adoption grew from 55% to 90%. This year the Annual Survey finds slightly more than 90% of the state’s households have high-speed Internet access at home through either a computing device or a smartphone, but 9.6% still do not have access.
CETF established the Statewide Survey on Broadband Adoption to drive policy and action, but too many residents are still stuck on the wrong side of the Digital Divide:
- Low-Income Households up 49 percentage points (33% to 82%): 18% Unconnected (30% Households earning $20,000 or less annually Unconnected).
- Latino Households up 50 percentage points (34% to 84%): 16% Unconnected (25% Spanish-Speaking Latino Households Unconnected).
- People with Disabilities up 47 percentage points (36% to 83%): 17% Unconnected.
About the California Emerging Technology Fund. The mission of CETF is to close the Digital Divide in California. The overall goal is to reach 98% of all California residences in every region with broadband infrastructure and to achieve 90% home broadband adoption by 2023. CETF is technology-neutral: “broadband” is a generic term for high-speed Internet access—wireline and wireless Internet service is faster than a dial-up connection. CETF strives to achieve these goals through public awareness and education, grantmaking to community organizations, and advancing public policy.