The rise in home broadband adoption, in the face of a severe economic recession, may seem surprising, as taking on the additional cost of a home high-speed connection might be difficult if discretionary income is tight. On the other hand, the migration to the internet of many resources for finding and applying for jobs may prompt some to cut something else and keep (or add) broadband.

In probing this issue in the April 2009 survey, it appears that few people were willing to cutback on broadband and were more likely to economize on communication services other than the internet. As the table shows, just 9% of internet users said they cancelled or cut back on internet services in light of their personal finances.

The higher incidence of this among low-income users, in face of the increase in home broadband adoption in this group, suggests that respondents were taking steps to minimize their monthly bills as opposed to terminating service. This is probably also the case for cell service, since this survey showed 85% of all adults as having a cell phone, up from 77% in late 2007. For low-income people especially, the landline phone was cut, as well as level of cable TV service, rather than broadband.