A couple days later, this article appeared in the Washington Post. Maybe I’m psychic (or maybe I’m just addicted to the Internet and need to spend more time thinking about other things).
Anyway, here’s the gist of the story: According to Kang (2013), The Federal Communications Commission is looking into building a nationwide Wi-Fi network, though it would take years to make the project a reality. The wireless industry obviously isn’t too pleased with the idea, but Google and Microsoft say such a network “would spark an explosion of innovations and devices” (Kang, 2013, para. 2).
There’s another (big) benefit to having a huge network like this, too.
Last semester in MLIS7700, I did a lot of research on the digital divide, or the “troubling gap between those who use computers and the Internet and those who do not” (Mehra et al., 2004, p. 782). According to a recent National Telecommunications and Information Administration (2011) study, 31.8% of U.S. households do not have broadband Internet access at home, and 28.9% of U.S. households do not have any kind of home Internet access (p. 28). About one-quarter of respondents said they didn’t have broadband access at home because it was “too expensive” (NTIA, 2011, p. 28). I think public Wi-Fi would have a huge impact on bridging that divide.
That’s not to say that I don’t have any concerns, however. Several questions spring to mind:
- How much would this cost, and where would the money come from?
- How secure would the network be?
- Would my personal data be compromised?
- What would the quality/speed of service be like?
- If I prefer my current private broadband provider, could I keep it?
- Would the current telecom companies go out of business? If so, what would happen to those workers?
What do you think? Is universal public Wi-Fi a good idea?
References
Kang, C. (2013, February 3). Tech, telecom giants take sides as FCC proposes large public WiFi networks. The Washington Post. Retrieved from http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-02-03/business/36728627_1_wifi-networks-wireless-industry-wireless-networks
Mehri, B., Merkel, C., & Bishop, A. P. (2004). The internet for empowerment of minority and marginalized users. New Media Society, 6, 781-802.
National Telecommunications and Information Administration (2011, February). Digital nation: Expanding Internet usage. Retrieved from http://www.ntia.doc.gov/files/ntia/publications/ntia_internet_use_report_february_2011.pdf
I'm all for universal public WiFi, for the most part. I sometimes (with an equal dose of guilty conscience and paranoia) steal my neighbors' WiFi signals when my Clearwire connection craps out. The two key concerns for me would be security and reliability. Also, how universal is "universal"? A big portion of the digitally disenfranchised is made up of people in rural areas who can't get broadband access. Would universal public WiFi be able to reach those areas, or would it just serve those who already have access?
ReplyDeleteAccording to the article, "free access to the Web would be available in just about every metropolitan area and in many rural areas." I wonder how accurate that statement is, though. I get the feeling that it would take a veeeery long time to make Wi-Fi available in a lot of rural areas (especially considering I couldn't even get cable TV at one of the houses I used to live in just a few years ago!). But we shall see!
DeleteI, too, think that free public Wi-Fi will one day be a reality, but I'm not so sure it will last. After all, water used to be free, but now people pay big money for bottled tap water and fancy filters. Even some fast food chains now charge a few pennies for a cup of H20. My point is, it seems like nothing is ever truly free. Someone's paying for it, but those costs may be hidden. I'm not saying free Wi-Fi is going to cause severe inflation, but don't you think it'll change the way some businesses operate? What if Starbucks instituted a two-drink minimum in order to use the Internet? (I, for one, would go on strike.)
ReplyDeleteI think it's a nice idea but I don't find it very realistic. Why does the government need to provide universal public Wi-Fi? I think it's a want and not necessarily a need. If the network was implemented - do you think public libraries would be negatively impacted?
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure it's so much an issue of good or bad as how easy it is to accomplish. This is were we really need to seperate the ideas of "wifi" and "data plans" though, because I get data signal nearly everywhere, but wifi is much different in reality. For one it much easier to be remotely secure, making your wifi-only devices a bit safer. You would also need a large system of wifi routers which will probably need to be located in comercial and other private buildings and also constantly maintained. I think the only organization that can pull off that level of cooperation is the government and that's just unlikely to me.
ReplyDeleteRegardless, I don't think it would be all people crack it up to be. The VSU campus has a campus wide wifi system that is password protected but as someone that lived in a dorm there for three years, I can tell you it's pretty miserable. The only good signal you get is when everybody is on holiday and even then it could be compromised if someone unconciously logged in with their smartphone/xbox/whatever or used the wrong type of wireless phone.