{"id":552,"date":"2015-02-10T07:11:36","date_gmt":"2015-02-10T12:11:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.musingsbymichael.com\/blog\/?p=552"},"modified":"2015-02-10T07:11:36","modified_gmt":"2015-02-10T12:11:36","slug":"high-speed-internet-access-everyone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.musingsbymichael.com\/blog\/2015\/02\/10\/high-speed-internet-access-everyone\/","title":{"rendered":"High Speed Internet Access for Everyone"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Will reasonably priced High Speed Internet access become available to everyone or will it become something that those who are poor can never have? President Obama proposed in a speech from Cedar Falls, Iowa that the Department of Agriculture<\/a> \u201coffer between $40 million and $50 million to rural carriers that invest in bringing broadband in rural areas. According to a report from FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, 53 percent of rural Americans have no access to high-speed Internet, which he defined as capable of downloading content at 25 megabits per second.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Also, his administration will formally oppose laws that limit competition for high-speed Internet access. The White House press office said \u201c19 states have laws that stifle such competition between internet providers.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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Our internet is very slow compared to<\/a> what you can get in Japan and Europe. In Japan the average internet speed is 16.6 mega bits per second and in Switzerland it is 12.7 mega bits per second, while our average internet speed is 10.5 mega bits per second. The cost of the internet<\/a> for Japan is $0.27 a month and for Switzerland it is $5.00-10.00 a month per each 1 mega bits per second. For the United States it is $3.33 per 1 mega bits per second for 1 month.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Many people pay for what some companies call a triple play connection. That is an Internet, Cable TV and Phone deal that the cable companies seem to push as a way to save money. It would be better if they would just offer an internet connection at less then $30.00 a month with a download speed of at least 10 mega bits per second. You can get most popular cable programs over the internet and a lot of people use their cell phone as the primary phone. The writing is on the wall for cable television to disappear within the next 5 to 10 years. And the hard wired phone is quickly disappearing also, so the triple play deal from the cable company makes no sense at all any more.<\/span><\/p>\n

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If the President gets his way we the consumer will greatly benefit from the increased competition. This will most likely force the cost(s) of connecting to the internet downward and at the same time encourage faster internet download\/upload speeds. At this time we are lagging behind other technologically advanced countries, such as Japan.<\/span><\/p>\n

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The internet is fast becoming as necessary as having a phone in your home is today. And with schools loaning tablets and laptops to their students to do homework, they require a way to connect to the internet. And while many of the poor have no access to the internet outside of school, there are Wi-Fi Hotspots in their local libraries and other public places due to government funding. But, unfortunately this does not diminish the need for a way to connect to the internet at home and the President has recognized this.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Without more competition and the realization by the cable companies of the need for cheap high speed internet, the poor will continue to have to do without it. Leaving them to fall further behind and have a much harder time to catch up with the middle class. Even the middle class suffers from not having a cheap high speed connection, for more of their discretionary funds are diverted to pay for high cost low speed internet.<\/span><\/p>\n

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I agree with President Obama that local governments can fill the gap left by the covering the whole town\/city\/municipality. Everyone would benefit and it might just get the commercial suppliers of the internet off their collective backsides, and supply the public with low cost high speed internet connections. I am talking about speeds of at least 10 mega bits per second at a cost of $15.00 to $20.00 a month.<\/span><\/p>\n

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That is my opinion- Jumpin Jersey Mike<\/span><\/p>\n