Many enterprises view high-speed broadband connections as ubiquitous. Yet in about 20 percent of the country, businesses and their employees do not have access to even DSL connections. This shortcoming diminishes enterprises' ability to support their employees.
I say we came to a point that we would be having hard time to educate the nation without Internet. There would be an expectation that internet is available during individuals' education. So it goes toward being a right in my view. At the same time this may not be the case in developing and underdeveloped countries yet.
You hit the key point in the debate. Is Internet access a basic human right like health care and education or is it an ammenity? My understanding is that the US government has taken the position that it is the latter although there has been spirited debate about the issue.
When people have chosen to live in rural areas is all fine with me, and in that case I do agree with you. I was more talking about those who don't choose to live in rural areas. They simply live there because their parents lived there, they don't have the means to move to an urban area, or because it's the only area they can afford, or they have land there, etc. The ones who are "stuck" in the rural areas without having been able to make a choice about it. It's a difficult topic because many things have to be considered. Interesting, nevertheless.
Of course there are the ones who choose to live in rural areas because they like it there. That's a different story.
I don't have any political preference. :)
For example, I live in Finland. The country is so small that is everyone move to Helsinki, or any other main city, good part of the country would be deserted. Now, the gevernment had provided every part of the nation with broadband Internet, so no one has to move if they don't want to, and still can have their Internet services, banking, hospitals can have their EMRs, etc.
But I am talking of a nation where 100% of the population has access to broadband in one way or another. Finland was the first country to declare broadband Internet a right in 2009, and put it at the same level as education and healthcare. So I guess that makes the difference.
By the way, I always like your Vblogs. They are always good thought triggers. :)
I guess that answer depends on one's political outlook. Playing devil's advocate, if a person wants to live in an isolated area should they expect someone (the government is usually the obvious one) to provide them with the same ammenities as someone who lives in an urban area? It would seem that one makes a tradeoff when opting for the rural life. Would someone expect pubic transportation to be available everywhere so individuals have a means to get to work?
"Google's Kansas City broadband project didn't just set itself up willy-nilly, they plan to put broadband where it's most needed."
How does Kansas City evaluate where broadband Internet is most needed? I am pretty sure there are schools, and students all over Kansas, rural or not, and they all need the Internet. It's not only a matter of employees needing it. What about hospitals, and doctors?
25% of the population seems quite high to me. I wonder why the US government is not doing anything fast about this problem. And no, the excuse of "it's expensive" doesn't convince me, when there are other nations that well could bring broadband Internet to not only rural areas but also as far as small populations in the proximities of the Arctic Circle.
"We are living in an information age and people living everywhere have the right to access internet be it employed or not. "
Very well said.
Also, there are schools and students in rural areas who do need access to broadband Internet. Only this can assure they will have the same level of possibilities that the rest of the students in other locations.
If not, in turn, this will affect their future employment, and we know the consequences, don't we?
Cost has always been the main bugaboo. Running fiber and telecom lines costs money. Carriers need to recoup their investments. Even when they run fiber in urban areas, they string the lines with the greatest possible return. If you live on a small street off the beaten path (like I do), chances are your service is not going to be as readily available and as broad as someone living closer to a main line. When moving into areas where populaton density drops, it becomes cost prohibitive to run wiring. Satellite is the better option in these areas but it is not as robust as landlines.
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.
Big-data has become a big point of emphasis for many businesses. While the technology is available to deploy these applications, the needed personnel often is not. As a result, analytic engineers' salaries have blown past the six-figure mark, and hiring these experts has become a challenge for IT managers.
Increasingly, companies are using videoconferencing technology to help employees collaborate with co-workers, partners, and customers. As a result, demand for technicians is rising, and companies are finding it difficult to retain their quality workers.
Software-defined networks, which deliver virtualization functions to enterprise networks, have the potential to dramatically change network design and significantly reduce costs and maintenance.
A recent survey by Endace found that 23% of companies experience some type of network problem daily and another 25% have a serious problem each month. Enterprise networks are still very unreliable and probably will continue to be in the near term.
ITRC found that more than 600 security breaches took place in 2012. Flaws were found in some of the nation's most respected companies: Apple, Citibank, and Wells Fargo. So, it seems the bad guys are doing better than the men in the white hats.
Comparing Internet services is tough because service providers price and market their services based on a best-case scenario connection that most consumers will never enjoy.
Walk into the Coastal Federal Credit Union in Raleigh, N.C., and something is missing. Rather than human tellers, customers face videoconferencing ATM machines. Is this the future of branch banking?
A survey by JD Powers found that customer interest in product features is lessening as phones evolve. Rather than features, price is driving purchases, and that change could have a dramatic impact on how IT departments secure these devices.
Businesses helped neighbors with Internet access and mobile device charge-ups during Sandra. Following that example, enterprises should consider preparing Internet disaster plans to help the public during disasters.
A recent release of the popular TweetDeck app for Twitter power-users gives new life to software that had previously taken a wrong turn. Here's a quick walk-through of the new TweetDeck, to show you why it should be at the top of your Twitter toolkit.
The decision could discourage innovators looking to the past, and require companies to build from the ground up, leading to a new generation of stagnation in the IT world.
Comcast and other broadband providers just might exempt content they own from counting against consumer Internet usage caps. Would that make their broadband services more desirable?
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.
The IBM Smarter Commerce Global Summit in Monaco kicked into high gear today, and we've already begun to see news emerging from that lovely city-state by the sea.
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