1. Monthly archive
  2. October 2016

October 2016

Smartphones help those without broadband get online, but don’t necessarily bridge the digital divide

Courts and regulators have increasingly seen high-speed Internet as a public utility that is as essential to Americans as electricity and water. But many Americans still do not have broadband at home, and some Americans have turned to mobile devices as their primary gateway to the Internet, according to Pew Research Center surveys. But whether smartphones are an adequate substitute is open to question.

Those who depend on their smartphones to go online encounter constraints with data caps and small screens, and the device is not their “go to” tool for personal learning at home. Instead, those with smartphones but not home broadband rely on a kind of “workaround ecosystem” that is a combination of using their mobile devices along with other resources such as computers and Wi-Fi available at public libraries. Some 13% of US adults are “smartphone only” Internet users – meaning they own a smartphone but do not have a home broadband subscription, according to our data from 2015. In 2013, that share was lower, at 8%. This group is more likely to be younger, lower-income, less educated, or black or Hispanic – the same groups that also have lower rates of home broadband adoption, suggesting that some are forgoing high-speed Internet service and depending on their phones instead.

Making the most of wireless Internet access

[Commentary] Barely a week goes by without some headline-grabbing announcement about super fast mobile Internet connectivity. A bevy of acronyms promise faster data speeds. And, on the horizon, wireless broadband technologies promise blazing fast connections without cable clutter. Next Century Cities, a membership organization of more than 150 mayors and city leaders, is “solutions agnostic” — we help cities find the broadband solution that fits their needs and helps deliver next-generation broadband to more Americans. Our member communities have adopted a range of solutions: some create their own networks while others partner with private providers and some even have a mixture of both.

Many of our members have approached Next Century Cities with questions about how wireless technology fits in their broadband plans. Is a brave new wireless wonderland around the corner, they ask. Not exactly. Not yet anyway. Should cities ditch their wired broadband strategies on a dime and embrace all things wireless? In reality, deploying fiber is as important as ever. Advanced wireless technologies should be welcomed, but for mobile connectivity to offer consumers real choice, policymakers must take steps to promote deployment.

[Todd O’Boyle serves as Deputy Director of Next Century Cities and is the program director for Common Cause's Media and Democracy Reform Initiative]

Analysis

Digital Equity Planning in U.S. Cities

This article contains preliminary findings of research being led by Brandon Brooks of Queens University, supported by Colin Rhinesmith of Simmons College and the Benton Foundation, and Angela Siefer of the National Digital Inclusion Alliance. The Benton Foundation is the publisher of these preliminary findings.

Civil Rights Groups Seek Set-Top Sunshine

In a petition to the Federal Communications Commission, 19 civil rights groups including the NAACP, National Action Network, and the Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council (MMTC) have asked that FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler lift the "sunshine rule" restrictions on outside parties contacting FCC decisionmakers about the set-top box revamp. Chairman Wheeler pulled the item from a planned public meeting vote last week and placed it on circulation—where it could be voted outside a public meeting—but invoked sunshine prohibitions on outside contacts as work continued on the item. The groups pointed out that sunshine restrictions are usually lifted when an item is pulled.

The same groups also want the FCC to release the text of the latest proposal and allow for further public comment and included that in their petition. "Chairman Wheeler’s refusal to release the new plan for public comment makes a mockery of the process and violates the most basic principles of transparency," said National Urban League president Marc Morial. "And his decision to impose rules that silence our voices, while decisions impacting our communities are settled behind closed doors, is unacceptable. The FCC must ‘unlock the plan’ and allow for meaningful feedback.”

© 1994-2024 Benton Institute for Broadband & Society. All Rights Reserved.