Increasing spectrum access vital for economic growth, health and civic engagement

The evolving capabilities of smartphones and tablets have completely changed the way that communities of color get online and seek out important information. From mobile banking to looking up health information or civic involvement, mobile technology is enhancing the lives of all communities, especially those of color.

However, this could all change if Congress doesn’t act quickly.

{mosads}Many mobile technologies run on airwaves that carry data transmitted between devices, also known as spectrum. However, spectrum is a finite resource, so as more people seek out mobile Internet access, the likelihood of congested airwaves increases.

The good news: there is enough spectrum out there to alleviate the looming congestion consumers’ face. 

More than two-thirds of usable spectrum is reserved for government use, and with action from Congress, some of that valuable spectrum held by government agencies could ease the growing demand for mobile technology, if put toward commercial use.

A study released by Pew Research earlier this year revealed that African-Americans and Hispanics own smartphones at rates similar to that of whites but are three times more likely to be smartphone-dependent.

The higher usage rate among African-Americans is also consistent among millennials, the youth demographic that many of us expect to go online the most. Available statistics suggest that a staggering 91 percent of teenagers occasionally use mobile devices to get online, and of those, 94 percent get online at least once a day or more.

Among teens, African-Americans are the most likely to have a smartphone, with 85 percent having access, compared with 71 percent of both white and Hispanic teens. Among African-American teens, 34 percent report going online “almost constantly,” as do 32 percent of Hispanic teens, while 19 percent of white teens go online that often.

Black and Hispanic adults commonly use smartphones to find information on health conditions, educational content or employment opportunities; having this information at our fingertips could help close some of the socioeconomic disparities that have been a longstanding problem for communities of color.

When discussing some of the health disparities that minorities face, few are more prominent than the one we focus on every October, also known as Breast Cancer Awareness Month, when millions of women seek out critical information on where to get mammograms and how to check themselves for early symptoms of this deadly disease.

It’s widely known that African-American and Hispanic women tend to have higher breast cancer mortality rates than white women despite having lower rates of breast cancer occurrence. While the cause of this discrepancy is complex and multi-faceted, allocating more spectrum for consumer use could at least help protect the viability of using mobile devices to find life-saving and supportive resources online. For those who rely solely on their smartphones to access the Internet — of whom a disproportionately high number are women of color — this option must remain open to help close the divide.

Protecting mobile connectivity is important for countless reasons, but our collective dependence on our smartphones and other broadband devices to get us online has made it far more vital than we ever imagined. Ensuring enough spectrum is made available for public use is necessary to avoid stifling the incredible innovation seen in the mobile space and to deter the emergence of disruptive wireless congestion.

Meeting the growing demand for mobile connectivity — especially for communities of color — will be a challenging endeavor; however, with bipartisan leadership in both the House and Senate, it’s a challenge we can meet. 

Campbell is president and CEO of the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation and convener of the Black Women’s Roundtable.