• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, March 16, 2007

According to the Pew Internet and American Life Project, Some 34% of internet users have logged onto the internet using a wireless connection either around the house, at their workplace, or some place else. In other words, one-third of internet users, either with a laptop computer, a handheld personal digital assistant (PDA), or cell phone, have surfed the internet or checked email using means such as WiFi broadband or cell phone networks.

Users of wireless access show deeper engagement with cyberspace when focusing on email and news. Among the 34% of internet users who have gone online wirelessly:

• 72% of wireless users check email on the typical day, compared to 63% of home broadband users and 54% of all internet users.
• 46% get news online on the typical day, compared to 38% of home broadband users and 31% of all internet users.

The report notes that the differences between wireless and home broadband users are statistically significant and notable because most wireless users (80%) have broadband connections at home.

When asked about the places they connect to the internet by wireless means:

• 27% of adult internet users have logged onto the internet using a wireless device at some place other than their home or place of employment.
• 20% of internet users have gone online at home using a wireless network.
• 17% of internet users have connected wirelessly while at work.

25% of internet users have gone online wirelessly from two of the three places; put differently, three-quarters of all those who have logged onto the internet using a wireless network have done this from more than one of the types of places queried. Specifically, among laptop users whose machines are capable of connecting to the internet wirelessly:

• 88% of laptop users have at one time logged on using a home wireless network.
• 57% have used a wireless network someplace other than home or work to connect to the internet.
• 36% have logged using a wireless network at work.

The growth in wireless networks at home has fueled the use of laptops to connect wirelessly around the house. 19% of internet users have wireless networks at home, which is twice the number recorded in January 2005. Those with laptops and home wireless networks take advantage of in-house mobility; three-quarters of these users say they move their laptop around to different parts of the house

25% of internet users say they have a cell phone that connects to the internet with a wireless connection. Among internet users with this capability on their cell phone, 54% have used it to get on the internet either at home, work, or someplace other than home or work.

Among those with cell phones that can connect to the internet:

• 47% have done this someplace other than home or work.
• 28% have done this at work.
• 27% have done this while at home.
• Personal digital assistants (PDAs): One in eight (13%) internet users have a PDA that can connect to the internet using a wireless network. Of these, most (82%) have used it to connect at home, work, or someplace other than home or work.
• Specifically:
• 56% of those with a web-enabled PDA have used it to access the internet or email away from home or work.
• 49% have done this with their PDA at home.
• 38% have used their PDA to connect to the web or email at work.

Users of the wireless internet tend to be younger than internet users in general. For internet users under the age of 30:

• 37% have logged on wirelessly from anywhere.
• 32% have logged on wirelessly from someplace other than home or work.
• 25% log on wirelessly at home.
• 16% have gotten online by wireless means at work.

As to devices for accessing the internet wirelessly, among internet users under 30:

• 40% have laptop computers, of which 88% are wireless-enabled.
• 26% have wireless networks at home.
• 40% have cell phones that can access the internet
• 17% have PDAs that can connect to the internet.

This table offers a fuller demographic portrait of internet users who have used a wireless connection to go online compared to online users who have not done this.