I can see an argument to be made that basic Internet connectivity is essentially mandated for some portion of the population by schools, government, employers, etc.
I have customers whose kids can’t do their schoolwork without Internet. Last week Ameren’s new smartmeters knocked a 900 MHz customer offline and her daughter had to do a Skype interview as part of college application, ended up burning through their cellular data plan but got it to work. Government wants to make it difficult to apply for things like Social Security, Medicare, or health insurance by phone or in person, they want you to do it online. I think that’s something they should be required to review, are they excluding low income people or seniors or people in rural areas by mandating interaction via Internet. Same with employers, have you tried to find or apply for a job lately without an Internet connection? Internet is replacing phones as a required method of communication. But also let’s be honest, most of these things can be (and are) done on smartphones. Although editing a resume or filling out a government form may be a lot easier on an actual computer. The word “broadband” is problematic in this context. Government regulators, tech media, telecom companies, etc. want a first-world definition of what kind of Internet is a “basic human need”. Flying coach isn’t good enough, everyone needs access to first class. Driving a used Toyota may be totally adequate to get you to work and the store and take the kids to school, but if some people have Teslas and Ferraris, then everyone must have them. It’s amazing how fast 25M/4M went from an aspirational and futuristic definition of “advanced broadband” to the minimum acceptable level, soon to be replaced with 100M or gigabit. And yes, 25M is an appropriate definition of “broadband” if the objective is to cancel your satellite or cable TV and watch HD video on 3-4 screens simultaneously, as well as download 50 GB games to your Xbox in minutes not hours or days. But 4M/1M will suffice for all those other basic non-entertainment human needs. The word “broadband” has no real meaning for most people. Maybe we need 2 or 3 terms along the lines of what the airline industry has – coach, business, first class. Maybe a case can be made that everyone should have access to affordable “basic Internet” that would let you do all those work, school and government things. The next level up would let you do those plus watch a Netflix movie. For even more money, you can watch multiple video streams in HD or 4K resolution. But that’s about entertainment, convenience, and saving money by cancelling your $150/month satellite or cable TV subscription. It’s not about basic human needs. At some point in the future, there may be a turning point, if they manage to make all forms of broadcast TV (OTA, cable, satellite) go away and now everything is on-demand and OTT. I don’t mind telling the little old lady on Social Security renting a dilapidated house in the country that she doesn’t need Netflix, because she can use an OTA antenna, or get the cheapest package from DISH or DirecTV. But if all those options go away, as the government auctions off all the TV spectrum, and DISH and DirecTV switch models to OTT streaming, can you tell retired people on fixed incomes that they can’t even watch network TV anymore unless they have “broadband”? But that’s a future problem, we’re not there yet. And if the government is really intent on making everything IP based, maybe they do need to structure the pricing so everyone can still get phone service and watch TV and listen to the radio. I worried about that with Wheeler at the head of the FCC. I don’t think we have to worry about it for at least 4 years now. From: cambium-users-boun...@wispa.org [mailto:cambium-users-boun...@wispa.org] On Behalf Of Jason McKemie Sent: Sunday, February 26, 2017 12:55 PM To: Cambium Networks User Group <cambium-users@wispa.org> Subject: Re: [Cambium-users] Huffington Post Article on Rural Connectivity You can argue a lot for broadband connectivity, but it is absolutely NOT a basic human need. On Friday, February 24, 2017, RickG <rgunder...@gmail.com <mailto:rgunder...@gmail.com> > wrote: “It is no exaggeration that broadband connectivity is now a basic human need,” says Atul Bhatnagar, Cambium Networks President and CEO. = code speak for more gov money (aka your tax dollars)... On Fri, Feb 24, 2017 at 11:31 AM, Ray Savich via Cambium-users <cambium-users@wispa.org <javascript:_e(%7B%7D,'cvml','cambium-users@wispa.org');> > wrote: Cyber Broadcast and Cambium Networks connect a town and bridges the digital divide. This article is published in the Huffington Post. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/how-a-small-town-in-illinois-is-bridging-the-digital_us_58b048f3e4b0658fc20f9416 _______________________________________________ Cambium-users mailing list Cambium-users@wispa.org <javascript:_e(%7B%7D,'cvml','Cambium-users@wispa.org');> http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/cambium-users -- -RickG
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