Factors affecting the adoption of an emerging technology: The diffusion of Wi-Fi Internet in Mexico

According to the literature in the field of Information Technology (IT), those who are unable to get access to the Internet tend to lack the necessary skills for harnessing the so-called “knowledge base economy.” This situation is known as “digital divide.” This problem has posed a major challenge for developing nations, such as Mexico, because of the rapid changes in the technology supporting the Internet, especially in wireless connections, which are rending obsolete the existing landline infrastructure. In this paper, we investigate the recent trends in the diffusion of Wi-Fi Internet in Mexico from a technology policy point of view. Available data suggest that a bottleneck in the Mexican legislation has discouraged private agents of supplying wireless Internet services, which in turn has affected the competitiveness of the Mexican telecommunications sector and, through this, of the Mexican economy at large.