The Whiteness
of Wi-Fi, By Roberto Lovato, In These Times, August 23,
2005.

In this short article, Lovato draws parallels between the
transformations brought on by railroads in the late 19th and early 20th
centuries and the Internet and broadband access today.

While we hear so much these days about the ubiquity of Internet access
and the rapid spread of broadband access (A Nation Online:
Entering the Broadband Age, National Telecommunications and
Information Administration, 2004), reports often overlook or even
consciously hide the fact that distribution of access is not equal
across all races and economic classes (Bush Plan
‘Digital Distortion’ By Jeffrey Benner Feb. 7, 2002 Wired. The Digital
Divide: Who is in and who is out? December 02, 2004, LAZ).

Invoking W.E.B. DuBois, the black social critic, and
activist and writer, Lovato briefly tells the battle over municipal
“Wi-Fi” (wireless) access in Philadelphia. There, city leaders
announced a program to provide universal access to Wi-Fi, wireless
technology and were opposed by telecommunications and cable companies.

Like the railroad barons of DuBois’ time, the CEOs and lobbyists of
telecom and cable giants worked against the interest of Philadelphia’s
majority. Claiming unfair competition, representatives of big business
lobbied Pennsylvania legislators to outlaw free municipal Wi-Fi for the
75 percent of Philadelphia’s poor who Neff estimates have no access to
the Internet. Media reform advocates and local officials defeated those
efforts earlier this year in a victory that has become a benchmark for
activists in other cities.

…Like those turn of the century railroads, the Internet has connected the
entire country and transformed many industries. Were he alive today,
DuBois might similarly conclude that the digital divide has a color line
running through it.

…free to low-cost Wi-Fi access represents a threat to big telecoms and
cable providers that reap billions by charging for Internet access while
tapping into the publicly-owned electronic radio spectrum that
facilitates wireless communications.

More information on the issue can be found in:

• The
  Ever-Shifting Internet Population: A new look at Internet access
  and the digital divide, The Pew Internet & American Life Project April
  16, 2003 (full report in pdf)
• Connection discrepancies: Unmasking further layers of the digital
  divide by Elizabeth Davison and Shelia R. Cotten, First Monday, Volume 8,
  Number 3 — March 3rd 2003.

Related posts:

1. The Digital Divide: Who is in and who is out?
2. Digital Divide links on dmoz.org
3. Free community wi-fi is a library issue
4. Bridging the Digital Divide One Community at a Time
5. World Wide Digital Divide