(Posting 3)
The lack of broadband penetration always appears to take many people aback. Whenever I see or hear and article that discusses how many people lack true broadband access the author always takes a tone of surprise that people do not have access. I live Champaign, IL, by all accounts a very tech minded town that has some of the most powerful computers in country. Yet if you go even a few miles outside of town, broadband is difficult to come by. Many institutions and pundits act as though only the most remote area’s lack broadband, but my experience is that you do not have to go very far out into the country before broadband becomes a rarity. Granted this is not always the case, but it is much larger problem than most people really want to admit. Also in many areas in which broadband is available, it is often more expensive than it would be in an urban area. So while an area may have the ability to access broadband internet connections, they may not have the economic means to do so. When I have traveled to communities well off the beaten path in places like Montana and Alaska I have heard just how frustrating it is for people who could truly benefit from broadband but are not seen as being cost effective when it comes to laying cable. More than one person has commented to me that the lack of technological penetration in rural areas is making life unsustainable for the people growing our food and harvesting our raw materials.

(Posting #3)

Just as, at the beginning of the semester, I found it fascinating to get a glimpse into the process of how internet standards are created and adopted, it’s been very interesting to learn about organizations, like the Internet Society, that take on the seemingly vast and fundamental tasks of considering the architecture and the future of the internet. Browsing their site, I felt that the future of the internet seemed, in different ways, both more planned and less predictable than I might have expected. Their four scenarios for what the internet might look like in ten years (http://www.isoc.org/tools/blogs/scenarios/) especially provided lots of food for thought.

As you might expect, not all of them are particularly library-friendly. I’ve been following the issue of net neutrality since it came to my attention as an undergraduate, and since then there have been both troubling and heartening developments in the struggle to secure a permanent place for net neutrality within the law. As a companion to the assigned YouTube video, I find that this FAQ is a pretty good primer on the issue and where it stands today: http://www.savetheinternet.com/frequently-asked-questions . As library folks, we’re well used to thinking about issues of censorship and freedom of speech, and it seems to me that for librarians in general and librarians with web responsibilities in particular, warding off any diminishment of the internet as a level playing field for all types of speech is now a part of upholding such familiar values.

My community is currently evaluating whether to implement the city wide wifi. When I first read about it, I was excited at the prospect of ceasing business with AT&T, but the huge economic incentive for the municipality was a surprise.
Currently, each school, library, government building, fire house, police station all pays separately for internet service. The sum of these individual ISP contracts almost equally the village wide project total.
Under the proposed plan, the village would provide internet to all of its own entities (the schools, library, police stations, etc) and sell it to businesses at a rate discounted from market pricing. It hasn’t been decided yet whether residents will get the service for free, or have to pay.
If the economics are so favorable in my community, it seems it would be the case for many others, and I don’t know it isn’t a more widespread trend.
The increasing availability and decreasing cost should be opening faster internet access to more people than are truly realizing it.

Post 3
It’s obvious that “high-speed” access to the Internet is steadily increasing (see statistics at OECD Broadband Portal, http://bit.ly/exdD3K). From free Wifi offered at the closest Dunkin Donuts to mobile broadband, high-speed Internet access through a mobile device (e.g. a cellular phone or through tethering, http://bit.ly/EwZSs), people can access information quickly and from nearly anywhere. Patrons no longer have to physically go to the library to access information or to use the Internet. What does this mean for libraries? Some think that the library’s role in a digital information environment is diminishing. However, this shift provides an opportunity for libraries to service and reach more patrons. Libraries can provide pathfinders and tutorials on Internet research. With an abundance of information resources available, patrons need help finding the most reliable, current, and appropriate sources to solve their information problem. See San Bernardino County Library’s Pathfinders (http://1.usa.gov/gAte4u) for an example of how a library can help it’s patrons navigate the information superhighway. A section like this on a library’s website can assist patrons within the walls of the library, as well as those that choose to use free WiFi at a business, or at home. The Truxal Library at Anne Arundel Community College (http://bit.ly/dYL2pZ) and the UC Berkeley Library (http://bit.ly/4CWkWm) provide online tutorials to assist users in searching for online resources and assessing their quality. For patrons in rural areas, libraries may be their only means to high-speed Internet access. As cited in the Wikipedia Broadband Internet Access article (http://bit.ly/67zbO), less than half of Americans in rural areas had an Internet connection in 2009 according to the Pew Internet & American Life Project. Due to the equipment costs, Internet service providers are reluctant to provide service in rural areas. The Columbia County Rural Library District (http://bit.ly/goYVOr) in Washington just recently announced that they will be receiving fiber optic connectivity so that patrons will be able to access streaming content. The Maine State Library (http://bit.ly/hyOdTs) is not only increasing broadband access at over one hundred libraries, but also is providing computer literacy training. This is critical in a state where 60% of its population lives in rural areas.

Posting #3

Like others have mentioned, I found it surprising that the U.S. lagged behind many other technologically advanced nations on country-wide broadband access. This should not be so surprising, however, when considering the state of our infrastructure (roads, railroads, public transportation, electric generation and transmission, dams, etc.). The fact that broadband deployment has been slow-moving and not so far-reaching seems to fit with our current state. Though we have historically been innovative technological pioneers, we have not fought to maintain our reputation.
It’s reassuring to read that our current administration has attempted to restore our reputation – not only has the Obama administration made strengthening America’s broadband infrastructure a policy (mentioned in the last article: http://www.internetnews.com/government/article.php/3794486/Economic+Stimulus+Bill+May+Drive+US+Broadband.htm
and on the administration’s webpage – see link below), the administration is also determined to “[e]nsure all public school children are equipped with the necessary science, technology, engineering, and math skills to compete and win in the 21st century economy” as well as to develop greener energy sources (http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/ostp/divisions/technology). This enthusiasm for scientific innovation and technological advancement is just what we need to bring ourselves up-to-speed with other developed nations.
On a side-note, has anyone heard of Google Fiber for Communities (http://www.google.com/appserve/fiberrfi/public/overview)? Google wants to build “ultra high-speed” networks. They’d like to give access to the internet 100 times faster than what most people have access to currently with 1 Gbps connection. The project is still in the works. It will be interesting to see where this is going, and if a Google broadband network would be a viable option for libraries or underserved, rural areas of the U.S.

When the issues of broadband and global issues are discussed, the thought that always comes to my head is the digital divide. It is amazing to see these countries and people from all over the world come together at summits and online communities to share their thoughts on the internet. Even though the speed and technologies that they use to experience the internet might be vastly different, the internet is beginning to take over the lives of everyone. Net neutrality, an issue that everyone can come together on, is becoming more and more important, as a monopoly on the internet can increase the digital divide even more. In many ways, with the recent increase in cost of data plans for smart phones and the end to unlimited data plans, the beginnings of a cost-driven internet can be seen.
On a positive note, here is a link to the Bill and Melinda Gate’s Foundation’s Global Libraries Initiative: http://www.gatesfoundation.org/libraries/Pages/global-libraries-projects-update.aspx. The foundation clearly sees the need for everyone to have access to information, and is working hard to give everyone an equal opportunity to the internet, the ”information highway”.
Here is a cartoon on the top things that happened concerning the internet in Winter 2010: http://theoatmeal.com/comics/state_web_winter. (FYI: It’s NSFW – though if you work at a library you shouldn’t have a problem , in theory.)

Posting 3
Two years after the stimulus bill that was supposed to spur the growth of broadband, it appears that very little has been done. There was apparently some legislation a few days ago that required agencies to return, in a timely manner, unused funds that had been appropriated for broadband projects (http://www.nationaljournal.com/tech/broadband-vote-a-waste-of-time-or-a-stitch-in-time–20110401). Of course, they’re supposed to return it anyway and this isn’t a new law, but it sends the message that these agencies aren’t doing a very good job and haven’t produced any results. (Ironically, my own broadband – Comcast provided, of course – has been cutting in and out all day.)
While I was fortunate to grow up in a rural area with decent broadband access, my aunt and uncle outside of South Bend, IN aren’t so lucky. I’m pretty sure broadband doesn’t exist in their stretch of farmlands dotted with residential streets. They still have a dial-up connection. Or, if it’s winter and there are no leaves on the trees to block the signal, they leech Wi-Fi off their neighbor. Wi-Fi seems to be the way we should be going in rural areas, and in fact, that’s where the technology first took off (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wireless_Internet_service_provider). Setting up towers and cables costs way too much and is presumably more intrusive to the environment. If extensive Wi-Fi connections were set up in central areas, like the local library or residential clusters, it could reach more people for less cost than individual cables strung around (though this still doesn’t solve the “farmhouse 12 miles away from town” problem – which truthfully may be more of a problem for statistics collectors than the people who deliberately bought the isolated farmhouse).
The Wikipedia article pointed out that satellite technology is pretty expensive, cumbersome to set up, connections are spotty, and there are caps on heavy use by the Fair Access Policy, so it’s probably not the best choice for many rural areas (where there are trees, rocks, and all sorts of other natural things that block connections).
Of course, we could be using those broadband funds for research and development of new technologies (or improving old technologies) that eliminate the need for land-based infrastructures…

Internet speed is about more than not having to deal with lag while playing the latest World of Warcraft. Slow internet speeds also prevent users from literally connecting to the world. This graphic (http://www.cnn.com/interactive/2010/03/tech/map.broadband.speeds/index.html) shows the average broadband speeds around the world. Just by looking at it, one can see that the least developed countries, the ones that need the most help are also the ones that are the least connected. If they cannot reach out to the outside world, how can they grow? This may seem like a statement only someone speaking with the smug superiority of Western Civilization might make, but not having technology is a vicious cycle. Undeveloped countries cannot create their own technology infrastructure, which, in turn, prevents them from becoming plugged in.
Another surprising detail is that the United States does not have the fastest broadband. I know that there have been some discussion about offering broadband access for free, paid for by the government, but I doubt that anything will come of it. South Korea is probably one of the, if not THE, most connected countries in the world. With government approval, a national policy was created with the goal of connecting 84% of the population to broadband services that go up to 1Mbps in 2005. This has been so successful that the government is now planning on increasing the speed to 1Gbps by 2012 and I’m pretty certain that more than 90% of the population is now connected. (http://point-topic.com/content/operatorSource/profiles2/south-korea-broadband-overview.htm)
I know that there are major differences between South Korea (size of both the population and country, government control, densely packed population centers, etc.), but the fact remains, by being this connected, the South Koreans have been doing more things online that we’ve only started seeing recently (video on demand, anyone? http://news.cnet.com/South-Korea-leads-the-way/2009-1034_3-5261393.html). Furthermore, with each household connected, even lower-income families have access to the same information as do the more affluent households. This makes even more of a difference when it comes to students and learning. Because of its broadband policy, there is a minimal digital divide in South Korea, if it has even any.
http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/how_does_your_internet_connection_speed_compare_to.php

As of three years ago, I lived in an area without broadband access and it was brutal. Living mainly off of dialup kept me from getting a more complete picture of what the web has to offer. I fully believe to improve the country, not to mention librarianship, is to make the US more “tech savvy”, as mentioned in the Corbin article.
Found on: http://www.internetnews.com/government/article.php/3794486/Economic+Stimulus+Bill+May+Drive+US+Broadband.htm
Working in a public library, many of our patrons come in to use the computers and/or the internet. Therefore, one of the more important aspects of a public library is to provide an internet service to those who do not have access to it. Speaking from experience of not having regular broadband access, actually having it greatly enriches ones’ life.
I found the link below from Tech Soup Article published on 19 Feb 2011, which discusses providing broadband service for the public through the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP).
http://www.techsoupforlibraries.org/blog/btop-projects-at-work-promoting-sustainable-broadband-adoption
One of the main focuses on the article is on Computers for Youth (CFY). The overall goal of CFY is to improve student academic performance by improving their home life, as their motto is “We Bring Learning Home”. CFY’s main way of accomplishing this would be by providing children access to the internet through broadband. One way that this was done was by negotiating with broadband providers and having them offer families access to broadband at a discounted rate (about $15 a month). The main example provided by the article was a grant which provided $10 Million service to New York and Los Angeles. The monies provided by the U.S. Commerce Department, is an experiment to see how the internet access affects student performance. Campuses given the assistance would be in high to midlevel poverty levels.
This is a great example of using grant monies to help getting broadband to more people. It is a good model for libraries to take advantage of and prove their relevance to a tax-paying public.

Posting #3

I though this week’s reading provided an interesting contrast to last week’s discussion about incorporating technology into LIS jobs. While I still think that’s essential to the future of librarianship, we also have to be careful to do our part to not expand the digital divide, or at least to be aware of it. As we read this week, there are many areas not just in the world, but within our own country that don’t have access to broadband. With this technological limitation over which people have little or no control (let’s be honest – while in a true free market people would just go where the services they want are, it’s not realistic for many rural Americans to just pick up and move to the suburbs to get their Internet access), some people are put at a disadvantage in terms of information access. This is why I liked the section of the final article from this module (http://bit.ly/end1nC), which mentioned how the economic recovery package was looking to increase broadband deployment. The article stated Obama’s view that this would have two distinct results: bridging the digital divide and developing a more tech-savvy labor pool (which in turn would stimulate job growth). I think this latter point, though not mentioned as much in the reading, should not be underestimated. Going back to what we talked about last week, we now live in an age in which technology shapes the way we live and work, and our future will be built around expanding the uses of that technology. Thus, not only will people who don’t have access to that technology be at an ever-increasing disadvantage, it will be harder for them to develop the skills later in life that are becoming so important in a globally competitive environment.

I also was glad to read the information in the first section about how there are global organizations that are dedicated to this and other issues on an international level. Since technology has a way of erasing borders, global cooperation and agreement as to where we’re heading is essential to make the most of new developments. Like Jenn, I also really liked the ISOC video regarding the common pool future (http://bit.ly/fRLdS8) I found an informative page on ALA’s site related to the issue: http://bit.ly/dRSGOD. It includes general discussion as well as a few paragraphs about why net neutrality should matter to librarians and how it ties in to free expression that I thought might interest others.

Posting #3
I agree that broadband access for all will not necessarily solve the country’s problems. However, there are people living in rural areas that can afford broadband, but simply do not have it available to them. Internet providers are often unwilling to invest in rural communities when the return on investment is uncertain, as stated in Corbin’s article (http://bit.ly/end1nC). People who live in rural communities deserve to be able to access the Internet at fast rates; they deserve to attend online schools, telecommute to work, play online games and shop from home with ease. All of these things have the potential to support the economy. For example, online stores will likely sell many things not readily available in a rural community, but that its residents will be interested in. Furthermore, schools and libraries (both rural and urban) require high-speed Internet to provide students and patrons with the information they need. According to a recent Wall Street Journal article (http://nyti.ms/h02sI8), “Two-thirds of U.S. schools have broadband connections of 25 megabits per second or less, about half what the government estimates they need. About 95% of libraries reported speeds lower than 25 megabits per second.” These speeds are in desperate need of an increase. As stated in the Corbin article, there is also a “growing sense that the United States is falling behind” in percentage of broadband users. This is supported by the statistics on OECD’s website (http://bit.ly/hvwvSf).
For all of these reasons, I support providing Internet providers with incentives to provide rural communities with broadband access. That way, people who want high-speed Internet, and can afford it, can have it. While I feel that schools and libraries should receive funding to pay for broadband and other technologies, residents should not. If they cannot afford broadband access on their own, I am sure that libraries will be more than happy to provide them with high-speed Internet access.

Post 2
The international organizations that are attempting to create a social structure for the growth of a global world based on ICT networks produce documents that sound a little bit like the 18th century revolutionary era on the rights of man, the desirability of coordinated governance working toward greater equality and social integration of all countries, leveling inequalities through the use of new technologies for commerce, education and rapidly shared information, as well as entertainment. The real question is to what extent the rubber can hit the road, in terms of social interaction and networked coordination of social and economic activities and decision making, and to what extent is the networked society just a highway on paper waiting to be built, or waiting to be upgraded and properly marked. The paved highways we see took some time to build, and there are still a few rural areas where the roads are rough or the investment was not adequate to handle those 18 wheel tankers of commerce. The United States had one of the most advanced telephonic communications systems in the world in the post WWII era, based on copper wire lines of transmission. The U.S. then grafted fiber optic cable onto copper at transmission stations in a crude patchwork of old and new. Companies with sonnet rings in the 1990s had advantages because the cable for their communications could handle higher transmissions of data. Countries like Korea and Poland, investing at a later time, could build the network without as much grafting of old and new. Both Angel Gurria of OECD and Vince Cerf in his response mention education. The use of the Internet for information and education created new types of social gaps that reflect the underlying cultural practices of users. For example, some people have little Internet or computer experience, and other people are so used to wasting their unlimited time that they have to be trained to turn off paid services like Lexis Nexis or they will bankrupt their firms. Folks assume that everyone is like them, and it can create blinders. Christ Gilbert of Ubiquisys also talked about the challenge of finding ways to build and communicate that encompass different cultural views and practices of engineers in other countries. The real rubber hitting the road is in real organized economic activity and education that make information sharing meaningful as both the underlay and the content of our communications. The assumption that increasing broadband will automatically produce economic growth or social development may need to be studied. Society and the Internet must be ready for one another, ready for new investments in capital, funding, time and cooperation.