A Coming Wireless Urban Divide?

By some accounts there are over 85 million fixed network broadband connections and also 235 million wireless broadband connections.  That means there is almost one broadband connection per citizen of the US - but that doesn't mean everyone is connected. Is there a coming wireless urban divide?

Gary Kim points out some interesting numbers:

- Roughly 17% of mobile phone owners do most of their online activity via their phone - not on a PC

- 51% of Hispanics and 46% of African-Americans use their cell phones to access the Internet compared to 33% of whites

What do those numbers really tell us though? Are Hispanics and African-Americans coupled with young urban whites more likely to use their Smartphones or wifi enabled laptops as their primary or only way to access the Internet? When you factor in cost and the high availability of strong wireless signals and choices in city environments this makes perfect sense. By the same logic you would expect to see more of a blend of fixed broadband connections with wireless is suburban markets. But where does that leave the rural markets?

A Smartphone without available bandwidth is nothing more than a fashion accessory. I think as apps become more and more prevalent this digital urban divide will become more and more of a story as the have-nots demands for bandwidth in the hinterlands falls on deaf ears.