FCC sees support for its views in Pew study, which finds negative signs for broadband

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) identified support for its views in a study released on Wednesday that casts the growth of American broadband adoption in a negative light.

“Today’s Pew report confirms what the FCC found in our broadband survey last year: There are still too many barriers to broadband adoption in America,” said Jen Howard, the spokesperson for FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski.

Pew found that “after several consecutive years of modest but consistent growth, broadband adoption slowed dramatically in 2010,” according to a report written by Pew senior research specialist Aaron Smith.

The report said adoption slowed across all demographic groups this year except African-Americans. And African-American usage still lags considerably behind whites. The portion of African-Americans who use broadband grew from 46 percent to 56 percent since last year. That compares to 67 percent of whites.

The report also found that by a 53-to-41 percent margin, Americans do not believe spreading broadband should be a major government priority. Those who do not have broadband were more likely to vote that way, possibly abetting arguments that education about the benefits of broadband is key to upping adoption.

Howard said the FCC considers education about broadband a major priority. The agency is “more committed than ever to educating Americans about the ways that broadband can improve their lives, whether that’s helping them build their businesses, access education tools, enhance their health care, or communicate with their government and each other,” she said.

Updated at 2:14 p.m. to eliminate a misreading of the FCC quote.