On July 22, BusinessWeek posted an article citing a recent Pew Internet & American Life Project study that describes how wireless connections are helping to narrow the Digital Divide. The study reinforces one of our recent blogs on the state of competition in the wireless industry. The data points to a thriving market that is benefiting consumers, particularly Hispanics and African Americans.

The findings support what we have observed; many Americans on the wrong side of the Digital Divide are “leapfrogging” over wireline technology and instead using wireless devices to access the Internet. Wireless technology is enabling many Americans to access the Internet for the first time and, for many, has been a a work-around to the obstacle of affording personal computing equipment in the home.

Pew found that English-speaking Hispanics and African Americans use their mobile devices to access the Internet far more than average. 47% of Hispanics and 48% of African Americans have used the Internet from a mobile device, compared to an average of 32% among all adults nationwide. The study also shows that English-speaking Hispanics are the heaviest users of “wireless on-ramps” to the Internet.

Make no mistake, the Digital Divide persists. In fact, with regard to African Americans, Pew notes that “to an extent notably greater than that for whites, wireless access for African Americans serves as a substitute for a missing on-ramp to the internet – the home broadband connection.”

This statement underscores the importance of the wireless platform for those without traditional wireline Internet access. We are grateful for the affordable and flexible on-ramp that wireless technologies provide for those without alternative means of Internet access. Because wireless is the only type of access that many Hispanics and African Americans have, we would be concerned with policy decisions that could create roadblocks on our wireless on-ramp to the Internet.