Max Cleland: “the U.S. Department of Commerce's latest report on Internet access in the U.S. is out. According to the Department's…”

“the U.S. Department of Commerce's latest report on Internet access in the U.S. is out. According to the Department's Falling Through the Net: Toward Digital Inclusion, published last October, more Americans than ever have Internet access and own computers. The number of Americans using the Internet jumped to 116.5 million in August 2000, 31.9 million more Americans than were online in December 1998. And groups that have traditionally been digital 'have nots' are making significant gains, according to the Commerce report's findings. Almost 39 percent of rural households, for example, now have Internet connections, a 75 percent increase over the last 20 months. The report found that African American households are now more than twice as likely to have Internet access at home than they were 20 months ago. Similarly, Internet access in Hispanic households has also nearly doubled and now stands at 23.6 percent. And more Americans at every income level have Internet access in their homes, especially at the middle income levels. Today, two out of every three households earning more than $50,000 have Internet connections.”