Cord-cutting Americans are ditching their wired broadband connections, too

By Ed Oswald Published April 19, 2016

Lack of infrastructure is often mentioned as the reason why people in developing countries often choose mobile Internet over home wired connections. A new study may change that notion, though, as it shows Americans are increasingly choosing mobile Internet over wired Internet as well.

The news comes as part of a bigger study on American online behavior conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. While some of the results — such as that low-income families are relying primarily on their phones to get online — we already knew, what is new is that the use of mobile Internet is occurring across the board.

Recommended Videos

Even among those making $100,000 or more, 15 percent reported using their phones as their primary Internet connection in 2015, up nine percent from two years before. The same general increase was seen across every other demographic, with close to 3 in 10 Americans making under $25,000 now using their phones to go online at home.

It’s not exactly clear what might be behind this shift in preferences on Internet consumption. While income may play a part in the decision to choose one form over the other, Americans as a whole could just be deciding that it’s unnecessary to have both.

Just look at how far mobile Internet has come in the past few years. According to Akamai’s most recent State of the Internet report, mobile broadband speeds as of the end of 2015 averaged around 5 Mbps. That’s about the same as most standard wired broadband connections, making it viable for everyday use.

These changes could also mean big adjustments for Web companies that up until now focused on development for the desktop. With Americans turning to the mobile Web, developing full-featured and easy-to-navigate mobile websites will become more important than ever.

This could create a whole other type of digital divide, experts say. Income, race, and location used to split us into the haves and have-nots when it came to the Internet. Now with mobile Internet all the more popular, lack of sufficient access to services might be the problem, owing to poor mobile website design.

“This new divide is characterized not solely by whether an individual can use the Internet, but by the full range of capabilities available to the user, including whether that person can access sufficient service and a device that is suited to a particular task,” Office of Policy Analysis and Development chief economist Giulia McHenry writes.

Contributor

For fifteen years, Ed has written about the latest and greatest in gadgets and technology trends. At Digital Trends, he's…

Topics

Computing

How to change margins in Google Docs

Laptop Working from Home

When you create a document in Google Docs, you may need to adjust the space between the edge of the page and the content -- the margins. For instance, many professors have requirements for the margin sizes you must use for college papers.

You can easily change the left, right, top, and bottom margins in Google Docs and have a few different ways to do it.

Computing

What is Microsoft Teams? How to use the collaboration app

A close-up of someone using Microsoft Teams on a laptop for a videoconference.

Online team collaboration is the new norm as companies spread their workforce across the globe. Gone are the days of primarily relying on group emails, as teams can now work together in real time using an instant chat-style interface, no matter where they are.

Using Microsoft Teams affords video conferencing, real-time discussions, document sharing and editing, and more for companies and corporations. It's one of many collaboration tools designed to bring company workers together in an online space. It’s not designed for communicating with family and friends, but for colleagues and clients.

Computing

Microsoft Word vs. Google Docs

A person using a laptop that displays various Microsoft Office apps.

For the last few decades, Microsoft Word has been the de facto standard for word processors across the working world. That's finally starting to shift, and it looks like one of Google's productivity apps is the heir apparent. The company's Google Docs solution (or to be specific, the integrated word processor) is cross-platform and interoperable, automatically syncs, is easily shareable, and perhaps best of all, is free.

However, using Google Docs proves it still has a long way to go before it can match all of Word's features -- Microsoft has been developing its word processor for over 30 years, after all, and millions still use Microsoft Word. Will Google Docs' low barrier to entry and cross-platform functionality win out? Let's break down each word processor in terms of features and capabilities to help you determine which is best for your needs.
How does each word processing program compare?
To put it lightly, Microsoft Word has an incredible advantage over Google Docs in terms of raw technical capability. From relatively humble beginnings in the 1980s, Microsoft has added new tools and options in each successive version. Most of the essential editing tools are available in Google Docs, but users who are used to Word will find it limited.