This should probably be its own thread.I don't know if your question is prompted by the FCC proposal to redirect Lifeline subsidies toward broadband, or not.
I am jaded, as I suspect we all are, since I see what people really use the Internet for. Not that there's anything wrong with Netflix and porn and cat videos and games, but I don't think it's the pure engine of education and economic progress that some people would have you believe.
That said, I think the answer is yes to both questions. Mainly because all that stuff is moving to the Internet, whether you like it or not. It's like you used to be able to find the nearest payphone, use your calling card or a quarter, and call for help or to get a taxi. Now you need a smartphone to call an Uber. If you don't have some basic ability to do things online, you really are left behind. Once the majority of people switch, you can't do things the old way, it's not really a choice.
Schools are moving everything online - textbooks, homework, tests, everything. It may or may not be better, it may be about saving the schools money, it may be what the vendors are pushing, it doesn't matter because the bottom line is kids from middle school up need broadband. It's today's version of a #2 pencil.
Do kids need 25/3 or even 10/1 to do homework? I doubt it. At home, 3/1 or less would probably be just fine, it would be better than going to McDonalds to do homework. I don't know if 25/3 will be table stakes in a few years.
What about video streaming like Netflix? Tough question. Should we worry about the digital divide and people having to pay for cable or satellite TV to get their entertainment, when others with access to fast broadband can be cord cutters? Will OTA TV eventually go away, or be nothing but crap, so it's not just a question of cost and you absolutely need broadband to get what used to be called TV? Will Netflix discontinue their DVD by mail service? If none of the kids watch "long form" "linear TV" anymore, does it matter if it goes away? I really don't know how the digital divide question applies to video streaming.
As far as political decision making, it's what you make of it. It is very easy to live in an information silo and only hear things that confirm your beliefs. The Internet equivalent of MSNBC and Fox news, but more so. And Twitter doesn't exactly lend itself to in depth analysis. But the world I grew up in where we had encyclopedias on the bookshelf and the newspaper and news magazines on the coffee table and Walter Cronkite on the nightly news, that's gone. If you want to be informed, you need to use the Internet. But you can easily be misinformed. Part of the problem online is facts don't sell. Sensationalism and clickbait sells. Just an example, I see the same writer Jon Brodkin on Ars Technica write totally slanted articles that paint ISPs as satanic kitten murderers, and then every once in awhile he will write a neutral, informative, fact-filled article with no apparent bias. Can you guess which ones get 500 comments and which get 5? The funny thing is Ars will run big Comcast and AT&T ads, even as the articles whip up the crowd to take up pitchforks and torches against Comcast and AT&T.
How many people are totally off the Internet? I think there's a middle ground of people who get Facebook and Twitter posts on their phone, but can you really make political decisions based solely on FB posts and tweets? Hard to do any in depth research on a burner phone with a 200 MB data plan.
As far as economic growth, gigabit Internet isn't going to magically bring economic growth. But if you don't have access to basic broadband, you definitely are shut out of part of the economy. One thing I've seen a lot in my area is the impact of the efficiency requirements of the Affordable Healthcare Act. Insurance and healthcare companies are moving buildings full of office workers to work from home, in order to cut their overhead costs. Customers who used to commute 30 miles to the suburbs now need broadband to work from home, and 1M/384K DSL isn't good enough, if they can even get that. But if they can get reliable 3/1 from a WISP, they still have a job, plus other people out here in the country can get those jobs. And now they have a couple hours they used to spend commuting to spend with their families. I think this is a real life example of economic impact of broadband, or the flip side, the impact of lack of broadband if you're on the wrong side of the digital divide.
Unfortunately, I don't see the Lifeline proposal solving much. Unless, as someone on another list suggested, this is just the camel getting his nose under the tent, and the next step is to raise the subsidies to more than $9.25 requiring expansion of the USF contribution base.
-----Original Message----- From: Josh Reynolds
Sent: Saturday, March 12, 2016 11:15 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [AFMUG] OT: Is it 1968 all over? Clarification: "Do you believe the LACK of broadband can have a negative impact on the economy and political decision making"... Sorry if I wasn't clear.On Sat, Mar 12, 2016 at 11:13 AM, Josh Reynolds <[email protected]> wrote:
I'm going to say something and hopefully take this in a slightly different direction... (A) Do you believe the broadband divide exists? (B) Do you believe the ability for people to have access to high speed broadband in their homes, at a reasonable cost, has a negative impact on the economy and their political decision making? Request - No political "slurs", we are all AmericansOn Sat, Mar 12, 2016 at 11:08 AM, Glen Waldrop <[email protected]> wrote:Well said. Both sides are acting moronic right now. It isn’t just the right. We’re watching our country dissolve. From: Faisal Imtiaz Sent: Saturday, March 12, 2016 8:32 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [AFMUG] OT: Is it 1968 all over? I hope you realize that everyone participating in this discussion is an Adult, and a Patriot. Everyone is very much concerned about the future ofour great nation. The discussion is over the events as they are unfolding.It is very interesting to me, as an independent, that folks on the right areso upset, and so polarized in their view that they are willing to acceptbad behavior from anyone of their affiliated party, since that person cando nothing wrong and the other side cannot do nothing right...I fully understand that everyone is passionate, but exchange of views in a polite healthy manner is the proper decorum, watching the GOP primaries turninto a circus act is embarrassing, because the world is watching, and to see folks trying to explain and justify is even more troubling.Bad behavior is bad behavior, it should be called out, and it should not btacceptable at any level from anyone. While the media is fully responsiblefor fueling the fire and covering only the inciting stuff.... watch closely the clips of trouble at the Trump rallies, there appears to be an steadilyincreasing amount of 'supporter participation' in this bad behavior.... (when someone is being lead out, by security there are folks hitting andthrowing punches at the person being lead out....).. and Mr Trump constantlyrefuses to condemn such behavior, which indicates approval.While you can explain it and justify it which ever way you want, some of uswho have had a broader view of the world, have seen this type of behaviorand events , in the other parts of the world.. and the end results were notvery good for anyone.... As such their is rising concern. The GOP is playing with Fire, one they think they can control....historically speaking when that particular type of genie is let out of thebottle, no one has been able to control it ..... :) Regards Faisal Imtiaz Snappy Internet & Telecom 7266 SW 48 Street Miami, FL 33155 Tel: 305 663 5518 x 232 Help-desk: (305)663-5518 Option 2 or Email: [email protected] ________________________________ From: "Rory Conaway" <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Saturday, March 12, 2016 9:05:42 AM Subject: Re: [AFMUG] OT: Is it 1968 all over?Jaime, travel to the WWII museum and learn about the sacrifices we made as a country to stop men like Hitler. You have so mischaracterized what Trump issaying but I’d rather take this discussion elsewhere to someplace like Facebook. Rory From: Af [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Jaime Solorza Sent: Saturday, March 12, 2016 6:59 AM To: Animal Farm Subject: Re: [AFMUG] OT: Is it 1968 all over?Fault? Its human nature....you push me and I push back...most fights start that way...literally and figuratively... Trump doesn't deny he has asked himaudience to beat the crap of those "bad dudes"...let's go back to olddays....what civil rights riots? Wallace? Lynching? He is playing to the older white man who fears foreigners are taking over the US. Xenophobia was one of Hitler and others methods used to create a fervor and led to murder of millions. i have a different perspective on things from my ancestors andupbringing plus traveling. Travel outside USA and your eyes open a bitmore. I normally stay quiet on politics but not this time.....too much atstake...Trump will not win.
