Rethinking Broadband: The role of Wireless Among Latinos
By Jason Llorenz, LIN@R
Universal broadband adoption and meaningful digital literacy remain among the equity issues of our time, standing alongside our goals for education, and healthcare. But quickly evolving technology and our own patterns of use are changing the very way we think about access to broadband. The fact is, the best Internet access point for me may not be best for you.
That decision really depends on how that broadband connection will be used, and what qualities are valued most – speed, reliability, and mobility to name a few. But, whether for video or e-mail, whether for connectivity while on the go, or for at home in front of a laptop, whether it’s for work or for play, there’s at least one flavor of broadband for you – probably two.
This wasn’t always so. At one time, good broadband meant a wired connection at your desk. When considering whether America was meeting its broadband goals or was stuck in a permanent digital divide, what mattered was “broadband at home,” hardwired to your computer.
For those still least likely to participate in the entrepreneurial opportunities presented by broadband, the home divide – still more than a 10 percentage point gap for Latinos — is a key indicator. But wireless technology is a significant and growing opportunity to close the gap.
Thanks to technological advances, many of us now find wireless a realistic option for our broadband needs. Want a high-definition video, an online game, the latest app, a connection to Google search or Bing, or directions to where you want to go – we can do it by wireless. Just about any Internet-based activity that can be done on the desktop, my tablet will do, too. A few weeks from now, when March Madness underway, millions will thank that smartphone in their pocket for letting them watch basketball no matter where they happen to be.
The newest generation of wireless, LTE, is delivering speeds matching wired connections. Because of its enhanced reliability, LTE is also providing premium wireless access to innovative health care options, as well as advanced school courses and online degrees. General Motors says that beginning this fall all of its new cars will be built with wireless broadband inside.
This is not to say that wireless is better, or that we should encourage communities to get rid of their wired Internet connection. Wired, home Internet, connected to a computer will continue to be one of the ways that we measure digital participation, especially for those already behind the curve. But we must acknowledge that we now have genuine choices – from multiple providers, including rapidly improving wireless LTE, and satellite broadband offerings that offer more for their money than ever before.
For a growing number of consumers, especially younger Americans and minorities, mobile wireless is their first choice. The Pew Project on the Internet and American Life reported that more than one third of minorities use their smartphone as their favorite route to the Internet. All told, Pew says that two thirds of Hispanic -Americans and six of ten black Americans use a cell phone to reach the Internet.
More than three quarters of Americans under the age of 30 go online with their cell phone. Last year, Americans connected 51 million new devices to wireless networks and Cisco estimates that by the end of this year, the number of mobile devices will exceed the number of people on earth.
When it comes to connectivity, wireless, especially mobile wireless, is a powerful option that’s often the number one choice for reasons of convenience and economics. More powerful networks and evolving devices — like tablets and netbooks that can be connected to larger screens and real keyboards — also mean that some higher-level functions like coding and resume-building will also be accomplished via mobile. Many of the most interesting education technology experiments leverage mobile technology as a central strategy.
In rethinking broadband, we know that home access, and computer ownership will be an important indicator of success. But, with the advances of the technology already achieved, and those ahead, neither wireless broadband nor any competing technology will be the clear “right” choice for everyone.
In most cases, that choice will be the need for more than one. Policy decisions should reflect that reality as we figure out the best rules and regulations to achieve America’s broadband goals. We can neither afford to think of wireless as second best, nor a wired connection the only broadband option — innovation, and our own choices mean it’s time to think again.
This article was first published in LIN@R.
Jason Llorenz is Sr. Fellow, Rutgers SC&I, and LIN@R Director of Tech & Inovation Policy. Follow Jason on twitter @llorenzesq, and follow LINAR’s technology tweets @LINAR_technolog.
[Photo by gailjadehamilton]