Limiting our Internet Connection

            As McLuhan would say we are becoming a “global village”. This idea refers to the fact that broadcasting, telecommunications, internet, or any form of communication is transforming our society into one big community. Things like the internet allow us to connect and speak with people in real time. Essentially this connection will allow the stream of media, information, broadcastings and it will make it accessible to anyone in the world. However, the problem is that there are more people who are not connected which causes this global village to have walls that exclude many from participating. Recently the internet is becoming much more accessible, for example smart phones are becoming more powerful and grant you instant connection to a browser. Also, a lot of these phones become hotspots giving you a connection to the internet anywhere where you have coverage. Specifically here at San Jose, VTA is planning on launching a new feature on all their busses and trains, WiFi. These are perfect examples of how the internet is becoming more accessible and cheap. The city of San Jose has been talking about providing a public internet connection via WiFi to a given radius in Downtown San Jose. This will allow a connection for people who don’t have access or can’t afford to have an internet provider. One of the things that the Obama administration is working on is on expanding and providing the use of technological resources. Part of their plan is to implement the use of computers and internet in schools, undeveloped areas, and low-income families. However, the down side to this is that it’s estimated to cost between 30 to 350 billion dollars.

            Recently our biggest internet providers like Verizon, Comcast, Bell South have been talking about limiting our access to the internet and instead of providing full access to the web they will sell us packages that will include different amounts of access. For example, an entertainment package will grant you with access to YouTube, ESPN,FOX Sport, etc. In a article written by Jeff Chester, The End of the Internet?, he describes the reaction Ed Whitacre, CEO of AT&T, “Why should they be allowed to use my pipes? The Internet can't be free in that sense, because we and the cable companies have made an investment, and for a Google or Yahoo! or Vonage or anybody to expect to use these pipes [for] free is nuts!” Limiting our access is simply a form of making money. Doing this will only limit the accessibility and since we are still a developing society launching something like this will stop or slow down the adaptation of those new to the internet. Moreover, in this same article it later states, “Without proactive intervention, the values and issues that we care about—civil rights, economic justice, the environment and fair elections—will be further threatened by this push for corporate control.” (Chester, Jeff) The internet has become one of the fundamentals tools for research, media, and education. Limiting its power is like forcing us to see the world through a small tube. From a business perspective companies like Google make their money by having ads and promoting other companies, but with a limited connection not everyone will be able to access Google resulting in fewer visits and less money. If you are interested in reading about these topics/issues please visit this link, http://www.thenation.com/article/end-internet