Increased high-speed Internet access is shrinking the national "digital divide" with nearly one in every 14 households hooked up to an extremely fast connection, according to a new report.
The Federal Communications Commission said 7 percent of U.S. households had high-speed — or "broadband" — access by the end of last June, up from 4.7 percent at the beginning of 2001.
Overall, the nation had 9.6 million subscribers to extremely fast Internet services by the end of last June, up 250 percent in just 18 months.
FCC Chairman Michael Powell said the figures show the nation is making "reasonable and timely" progress in hooking up homes and businesses to high-speed connections supplied through telephone lines or cable TV lines, as required by the Telecommunications Act of 1996.
"And promoting such deployment is clearly imperative if we are to enjoy the full promise of our economy and our democratic society," Powell said.
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