Minorities Are Leading Adopters of Broadband, IP Services: Report

English-speaking minority groups are the leading adopters of broadband and IP communications such as VoIP, says a new study from the US Internet Industry Association (USIIA).

The study found that more than 90% of English-speaking Asian-Americans and 80% of English-speaking Hispanics use IP and broadband services, a higher rate than the 74% of white Americans, who use those services.

The survey found that "Internet penetration is significantly higher among Asian-Americans than it is for all other ethnic groups…Many Asian-American Internet users are comfortable with tools that keep them in touch; Email, instant messaging (IM), and voice over Internet protocol (VoIP)."

It also found that ethnic minorities are leading the charge to VoIP, and that they "were early adopters to VoIP technologies because of the low prices available for international calling." It added that ethnic minorities" have embraced data/VoIP/video bundling more quickly than Non-Hispanic whites."

African-Americans have lagged other groups in broadband and IP use, the study found, with overall Internet use at 61%.