The Digital Divide

Smartphones are ceating a buzz all over America and ensuring that more people have access to an Internet experience, allowing them to cross over the so called Digital Divide. Being on the other side of this Digital Divide has become a concern for high quality of life, which shows that there is a change in the culture, consumer preferences and responses. However, being technologically involved is determined by two key elements: income level and job security. At present, the lack of reliable, easy access to the internet hinders our ability to connect to jobs, education, services, public safety resources and support networks.

‘’Increasingly this means having good Internet access on the go, because in just a few years most U.S. Internet access will be mobile. Recently International Data Corp. predicted that by 2015, "more U.S. Internet users will access the Internet through mobile devices than through PCs or other wireline devices."

Telecommunication companies tend to concentrate and provide coverage in densely populated areas, thus people living in remote areas so not benefit from these broadband and wireless connections. It has been predicted that within the next year, handsets in use in the US will be smartphones of some kind.

What are some of the consequences of having the nation run on smart-phones? Firstly, smart-phones are costly for most; especially for low income earners and committing to long term contracts can often prove to be a financial risk for low income levels. Thus, no contract phones have become a little more popular over the past few months.

In order to encourage and overcome this problem, services like T-Mobile and Sprint have been applying consumer-friendly strategies and using competitive pricing to attract more customers. Thus of course, has increased the level of competition in the industry, but it also assures that the majority benefit from smart-phones and mobile internet services. Competitive pricing is used intensely in this industry by organizations, and what determines their sales is then based on the effectiveness of the marketing and promotional tactics.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/10/07/tech/mobile/amy-gahran-cell-phone-bridge/index.html