The telecommunications revolution is fundamentally reshaping the way millions of people live their lives, both at home and at the job. Pundits say this is the late 20th century version of the industrial revolution. Yet, very little has been done to assure that its benefits are distributed evenly, particularly to low-income and minority communities. The information superhighway has detoured around whole communities. People are cut off because they cannot afford computers, because they are not being taught how to use them in schools, and because they have been geographically 'redlined' from participating neighborhoods.
Access There are many barriers to access.
Forty-three and a half percent of households that are completely dependent on public assistance lack a telephone. Furthermore, African American and Hispanic households are more than three times as likely as white households not to have phones. Not having a phone poses significant problems on its own, but it also implies that the family has no access to the resources and opportunities on the Internet. In a six month investigation, the Chicago Reporter found that in some predominately black communities of Chicago only one in four households has a telephone line much less a computer. Census data reflects this reality.