Leader of Internet industry group says broadband gap mainly a matter of customers, not availability

The rural-urban digital divide is caused mainly by lack of customers willing to pay for broadband and other Internet service, not a lack of service availability, according to David McClure, CEO and president of the United States Internet Industry Association, a lobbying group.

"While deployment is advancing rapidly, adoption of broadband by consumers – even to those who have it readily available – lags," McClure said in a report this month. "Although he says that the government must play a role in speeding up the Internet and continuing to ensure deployment across the nation, he insists that these efforts are far less important than educating residents about the availability of existing broadband," says Broadband Reports. (Read more)