You want fries with that Wi-Fi?

Most of us have done it: dropped into a coffee bar or fast-food spot to use the free Wi-Fi. But a surprising number of people - particularly low-income - depend on these places as their only source of high-speed Internet.

According to a story in The Wall Street Journal, one of the best places to view the digital divide is in a McDonald's at night - after schools and the public library are closed. You can see students there plugging away on their laptops because they have no broadband access at home. As Speed Matters reported in April, 2012, a Pew Internet study found, "... differences in internet access still exist among different demographic groups, especially when it comes to access to high-speed broadband at home."

The problem is especially acute in rural areas with low-income populations. There, many areas have no phone-based broadband at any price, and many families can't afford both phone and cable or satellite hookups.

The Journal looked at the southern Alabama community of Citronelle. There, "The local public school system has encouraged teachers to put assignments online and students to use their own devices for school work. Teachers post extra-credit problems and links to educational videos and other resources." Meaning, high-speed Internet isn't optional.

So, many people are grateful for McDonald's and Starbucks. Together, the two vendors have 19,000 Wi-Fi enabled locations - 4000 more than all the wired public libraries in the country. And both companies let people use the Wi-Fi without making a purchase - although they're hoping you will.

So, while food outlets are better than nothing, they're not ideal places to study. And, it says a good deal about us as a country that we're willing to offer public education to all, but not willing to provide the tools necessary to succeed at it. As Speed Matters said last April, a "lack of full broadband hampers people in the workplace, with health care and in keeping up with public life." And in education. We can and must do better.

The Web-Deprived Study at McDonald's (WS Journal, Jan. 28, 2013)

Pew Internet: The digital divide persists (Speed Maters, Apr. 17, 2012)