Just because one starts poor, should not preclude them from vying to improve and take their life to the next level. I am very curious to see what the FCC does with its' public super WIFI access that hopefully will level the playing field even more.
I came across a few exciting stuff as to how we can treat the Internetlike a Utility. I don't necessarily agree with all of them but they are certainly ones we can debate at length on tbhis forum.
"So what does treating Internet access like a utility means? Well, many things, some good and some less so. The end goal is to make Internet access something we can depend on moving forward, thus enabling newer, greater services and even more rapid growth of the Web.
The following are just a few suggestions:
A Neutral Web: Your power company doesn't favor your washing machine over your iron or your air conditioner over your lights. If the Internet is to truly become a utility, it must be a neutral one, as it is now, without the risk of companies showing favor to certain sites or services in order to make more money.
Greater Reliability: The reliability of Internet connections needs to be improved. Though it is admittedly more difficult in many ways to deliver bandwidth than power, repairing downed connections has to be a priority.
No Longer Unlimited: I won't win many friends with this, but with most utilities you pay at least something based on your usage, even if it is a token amount. Bandwidth is a limited resource so offering unlimited accounts is much like unlimited hosting, a half-lie. People who use more power and water pay more. This doesn't mean hosting accounts would cost more, in fact most would likely pay less under a metered plan than an "unlimited" one, but it causes people to find ways to be smart about their access.
Access for All: Currently in the U.S. there are many people, my in-laws being some of them, who don't have broadband Internet access because where they live is too rural. This, even though they have power, water and phone access. With current bills, the government is trying to help extend access to them, but it may be a tough road. However, reaching them is crucial for treating Internet access like a utility.
Greater Bandwidth: Finally, for most of us our houses can receive more than enough water or power to do anything we would want to do and then some. Internet access needs to have enough room to grow with new technologies. Accounts with only a few MB of bandwidth will not cut it, especially since South Korea, for example, may soon have Internet access 200 times faster than our average connections."
I came across this excellent article presenting a counter argument as why Broadband is not a Public Utility:
"In closing, The data and evidence show that broadband is not a public utility warranting economic regulation of prices, terms and conditions.
Lastly, there are two particularly interesting and significant ironies/contradictions behind the net neutrality position that broadband service should be considered a public utility.
First, many of the same proponents who seek to turn the current "dumb" electrical grid into a "smart" electrical grid, want to turn the current "smart" broadband grid into a "dumb" end-to-end network grid.
Equally confounding and contradictory, many of the same proponents who seek that broadband be regulated as a public utility, don't want broadband to be usage-priced like public utilities are. Broadband-as-a-public-utility proponents want broadband usage to be free. That is actually less of a public utility model, and more akin to a government program."
So in that case, are we asking that government should provide subventions to ensure that all customers can at least meet the financial burden associated with internet access?
Gerad makes some good points. And your recognition, Alison, that those who have make more, is key.
Clearly we are not up-to-speed in terms of capability or access. It seems that we may need to consider a new model. Maybe the infrastructure could be advanced by the federal government with some mixture of city-based and/or public/private partnerships with industry for local service delivery. Some federal/local combination - like the highway system - seems worthy of consideration.
Leaving the system evolution to siloed business interests will not solve the problem.
The University of Kansas just released a study that shows, over a period of 10 years, evolution of Internet connectivity has allowed countries and regions that started with disproportionate amounts of bandwidth ended up even richer. Meanwhile, bandwidth poor areas made no significant gains. Here's the news release.
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Recently, the Obama administration has been of two minds where privacy rights are concerned. On one hand, you have an administration that vowed to veto CISPA and mandated open data for government websites. On the other hand, you have an increasingly out-of-control Department of Justice on a fishing expedition at AP and demanding legislation to let the FBI wiretap private, encrypted communications and levy fines if a company fails to comply.
The apartment and house sharing service, Airbnb, now requires members to verify their identities by demonstrating a presence on the web, and by either scanning a government ID or entering detailed personal details. Other enterprises should take a close look at Airbnb's verification policies.
Facebook advertising is a lightning rod. It seems neither brands nor consumers are 100 percent happy about the social media site's policies, placement, or procedures. But the real controversy about Facebook ads and promotions is over whether they work.
By now, you've most likely heard about the 3D-printed gun that Texas-based Defense Distributed demonstrated last week. But we haven't heard the last about the censorship war that began soon afterward.
New York's Metropolitan Transit Authority is conducting a pilot test of digital kiosks to guide subway users to where they want to go more efficiently and at lower cost.
The whole Amazon.reader debate is a double-stupid. It's stupid to think that there's any e-book buyer who doesn't know Amazon's URL, and it was stupider to let ICANN launch the whole free-form TLD initiative to start with.
While NFC's original goal was to enhance mobile commerce applications, it is finding its way into a number of other uses, which is creating both opportunity as well as challenges for IT departments.
Enterprises would like to move to cloud computing but are hesitant because they are concerned about providers’ ability to secure company data. Here are some tips that help to ensure that if breaches occur, the business is not left holding the bag.
Edmunds separates customers into segments based on the info it collects on its site and from partners, and uses that to push out custom content, said Brian Baron, director of business analytics for Edmunds.com, at Predictive Analytics Innovation Summit.
The automotive website uses propensity modeling to target ads and customer registration forms, said Brian Baron, director of business analytics for Edmunds.com, at Predictive Analytics Innovation Summit.
Subsidized handsets, rather than locked handsets, should be the focus of regulators. We're not getting good deals, not fostering innovation, and weakening our power as buyers.
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