[ Background ]

December, 1999. The Internet has become a powerful medium for the dissemination of news and information; for consumers to purchase things from the convenience of their home, often at less than retail prices; and it is a new source of disparity between the various races, income groups, and geographical groups in our society.

In 1994 the National Telecommunication and Information Administration (NTIA) contracted with the Census Bureau to include computer and modem ownership in its Current Population Survey that November. Specific variables were accounted for, and the first of three reports was made: Falling Through the net: A Survey of the "Have Nots" in Rural and Urban America. This report spawned a debate over what has become known as the Digital Divide, the apparent gap in access to computers and the Internet between different races and income groups.

The NTIA revisited this topic in 1997, providing additional information on the subject in its report Falling Through the Net II: New Data on the Digital Divide, at the request of Vice President Al Gore. Again, the data was crunched together and the statisticians got involved more so than ever to show that the Digital Divide was growing ever more rapidly, while also emphasizing the fast pace that access to computers and the Internet was growing among all groups.

Finally, the first ever Digital Divide Summit was held on December 9, 1999. The Digital Divide has grown to such proportion that U.S. Secretary of Commerce William Daley called it "one of the most pressing problems facing our nation." President Clinton said in a Rose Garden speech that day that "There is still a lot more to do. We must connect all of our citizens to the Internet, not just in schools and libraries, but in homes, small businesses, and community centers. And we must help all Americans gain the skills they need to make the most of the connection." The new statistics are based on the third rendition of the NTIA's study, release in July 1999, and they continue to confirm a growing Digital Divide...or do they?

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