Public Wi-Fi and Minorities: Study Finds Strong Benefits

According to a new study from WifiForward, African-Americans and Latinos are more likely to use public Wi-Fi networks and use them more often. Furthermore, they report more in the way of positive impacts from public Wi-Fi use than their Caucasian counterparts.

One-third of Latinos and 29 percent of African-Americans use public Wi-Fi to access the Internet, which explains why public Wi-Fi access “plays a larger role for communities of color,” WifiForward notes. “The study’s findings confirm earlier surveys showing that Latinos and African Americans, particularly those who are middle- and lower-income, are much more likely to rely on smartphones and other mobile devices for their primary access to the Internet,” commented Michael Calabrese, director of the Wireless Future Project at the New America Foundation’s Open Technology Institute.