Internet access for Americans has taken on new urgency since the pandemic. Prior to it, many people without a home broadband connection could manage, perhaps using a smartphone for web surfing or taking a computer to the library to use Wi-Fi for more data-intensive applications. But the pandemic exposed the limits of wireless data plans for schoolwork or working from home, as well as the consequences of having limited or no access to the internet at home.
John B. Horrigan is a Senior Fellow at the Technology Policy Institute. Previously, he was a Senior Researcher at Pew Research Center, where he focused on libraries, technology, and communities as well as open data and open government. Prior to rejoining Pew Research Center in 2015, he served as research director for the development of the National Broadband Plan at the Federal Communications Commission. He is a nationally recognized expert on research into barriers to home broadband adoption and use, expertise cultivated as a consultant and in his first stint at Pew Research Center from 2000-2009. He has a PhD in public policy from the University of Texas at Austin and a B.A. in economics and government from the University of Virginia.
