An article in Telecompetitor cites statistics from AARP that show there is still a substantial broadband gap among seniors. According to data from the Older Adults Technology Services (OATS) organization that is part of AARP, 19 million seniors didn’t have a home broadband connection in 2023. That’s not a big improvement over the 22 million seniors who didn’t have home broadband in 2018. The article cites a statistic from AARP that only 61% of seniors over 75 have a home broadband connection.
AARP notes that the reasons seniors don’t have home broadband are similar to the reasons affecting other demographics. For example, only 53% of seniors with less than a high school education have broadband compared to 68% of seniors with a high school or higher education. Incomes also matter, and seniors with incomes under $25,000 struggle to afford broadband. AARP notes some improvement in senior use of broadband from 2018 to 2023. They noted that more seniors are using large-screen devices in 2023. The biggest improvement for seniors was an improvement in the use of smartphones and mobile services.
Interestingly, the AARP statistics didn’t consider 5G home internet or 5G mobile plans as broadband access. AARP believes that 5G has issues like unreliable service, data caps, and other problems, which means that a 5G connection isn’t reliable for some of the services that seniors need, like medical monitoring. 5G capabilities are improving.
The big cell carriers have been adding spectrum and making electronics upgrades, which are bringing faster and more reliable speeds. However, one of the issues that isn’t discussed enough is that fast cellular broadband speeds are only good within about two miles of a cell tower. Most urban households are within a mile of a cell tower and can receive download 5G speeds over 100 Mbps, and often much faster. But in rural areas, a lot of people live more than two miles from a cell tower. In rural areas, there are still large swaths of areas with little or no cellular broadband coverage. Cellular service is also engineered by the big three carriers to have relatively slow upload speeds, and it’s not unusual, even in urban areas, for upload speeds to be under the 20 Mbps definition of broadband set by the FCC. It’s possible that AARP will eventually bless 5G as acceptable broadband, but even then, only for customers within a few miles of a cell tower.
The senior broadband gap is significant since seniors are increasingly reliant on broadband. Seniors are like the rest of us and are seeing essential services moving online. Money and banking have largely moved online. Local, state, and federal governments are moving forms and portals online, and often as the only way to communicate. Homebound seniors need access to online shopping. Businesses everywhere are converting to online portals. For example, portals are being used to communicate with mortgage companies, veterinarians, dentists, plumbers, etc.
The biggest need for home broadband for seniors is increasingly becoming health care. Healthcare providers are almost universally shifting to the use of online portals to communicate with patients. The portals are used to schedule visits, communicate results of medical tests, and answer patient questions. Anybody without the skill or ability to access medical portals is at a major disadvantage.
Seniors are also increasingly reliant on telemedicine, where they can have virtual visits with physicians without having to make an office visit. Broadband is also needed for monitoring medical devices that are increasingly used to track at-risk patients who suffer from diabetes or heart issues, and for general monitoring after patients are released from surgery.
I’ve talked to a lot of digital equity folks in the last year, and a lot of them are focused on seniors. These groups help seniors find affordable broadband connections and take advantage of any discounts or subsidies that can help pay for a connection. Digital equity folks are helping seniors obtain computers, tablets, and smartphones and teaching them how to use them. I find myself repeatedly ruing that the federal government decided to nix a lot of the grant funding to help with this effort. Luckily, a lot of the folks engaged in this work are finding ways to continue the effort without the federal funding assistance.
Thank you for sharing your insights. I am encouraged that there has been progress in closing the digital gap for older adults. Yet there is more to be done indeed!
I refute a senior broadband gap entirely. They have access if they want. These numbers don’t represent lack of access, they represent lack of interest.
As an ISP operator, I see this. I dare say that the vast vasy majority of seniors with internet access only have it to stream. Many have only 1-2 TVs hooked up and maybe a tablet. Many get their facebook on their phone and don’t own a PC.
These people are also not working from home or doing any sort of demanding activities for lack of interest.
There is no gap here that isn’t intentional.
I concur with DanDenson on this…
The issue is not lack of Broadband access… the issue is (usually) lack of interest. From what I am seeing, many seniors are just not interested in what is available from Broadband providers… The programming options have not been geared toward those of the Senior set, nor are their interests and values sought after by those writing and producing what the younger generations are developing. These younger generations often make fun of “boomers” and others that are older.
And the Senior set — now pretty much encompassing the “Baby-Boomer generation” — is also much more willing to just shut off the device if they do not like what is being offered. They are more likely to just opt to read a good book or magazine instead.
The “tone-deafness” of the younger set can best be shown by the recent attempts by the Federal Social Security Admin. to migrate their customer service functions away from a telephone rep-based system to an online/interactive system.
These attempts failed miserably!!
Among older adults, their adoption of technology is going to vary based on their occupational history. Some Boomers began using computers, early online platforms such as CompuServe and AOL and the World Wide Web soon after they became available in their professional and personal lives. Others did not. Uneven adoption compared to later generations who grew up with these ICT advances. That also likely explains why many seniors exclusively rely on smartphones and SMS messaging.
100%. I now managed 2 Elderly family member’s SS because the digital process is immensely difficult for them, and for that matter ME.