Home broadband penetration is picking up, according to recent findings from the Pew Research Center's Internet and American Life Project. While previously stuck in the 54-57% range, home adoption rates among adult Americans hit 63%, with most of the growth coming from population groups that have traditionally had below average usage rates.

Perhaps surprising is the fact that adoption of broadband appears to be immune from the effects of the current recession. In fact, the number of people who had cut back on cell phones or cable television was double the number who said the same about their Internet service.

Also growing is the number of broadband subscribers willing to pay extra for faster speeds. This may reflect the fact that a majority of broadband users (84%) see the home high-speed connection as "very important" or "somewhat important" in at least one of the five areas cited as reasons for having broadband.

Dial-up usage continues to drop precipitously. According to the survey, only 7% of Americans are dial-up users at home - a drop of 50% from two years ago. When asked why they had not switched to broadband, most of these users cited price as the main obstacle, along with availability or simply the lack of a need for the service.

Three times the number of dial-up users, or 21% of American adults, do not have Internet access. Of those, 22% are simply not interested (down from 33% in 2007), while the rest either can't get access where they live, believe it is too expensive, don't have a computer, or simply don't want it.

Those groups showing the greatest growth in adoption included senior citizens, low-income Americans, high school graduates and older baby boomers.