May 18, 2020
The 73rd Year
Day 60
Lightning-fast broadband internet. Now more than ever America needs it!
Unfortunately almost 25 percent of rural America, or about 14.5 million million users, do not have it. Slow internet service has been a problem for years but the Covid-19 pandemic has made it much, much worse at a time when speed is much, much more important.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has declared that an Internet Service Provider (ISP) must deliver at least 25 Mbps download speed and three Mbps upload speed to qualify as broadband.
In urban/suburban areas this is no problem. But many rural Americans are lucky to plod along at 4 Mbps download and during high use times it can shrink to far less than two.
My sons are scattered around cities in the northeast. They reported the following speeds during prime time Sunday night:
* Boston - 95.7 download/ 5.81 upload
* Providence - 92.5 download/72.4 upload
* Brooklyn -155.6 download/34.9 upload
* Rural Vermont -2.69 download/1.09 upload
My daughter-in-law up the hill from us reported that they had no service at all Sunday night.
Cost is an issue also as there is rarely any competition in rural areas. We have access to one provider and pay $90 a month for a lousy service with data limits. My son with several choices, lightning fast service and no limits pays $70 a month.
Why is this important and why now?
The Covid-19 virus ravaged urban areas first but it is now spreading rapidly through rural America. Many if not most Americans have either been ordered to stay home or have been sticking close by voluntarily since March. Schools are closed for the year. Anyone who is able to do so is working from home.
Distance learning requires fast Internet service. In its absence kids are less likely to study, learn, have access to teachers and the ability to socialize with other kids.
An online workforce requires fast internet service. It is not possible to interact with colleagues and utilize sophisticated business programs with a slow internet connection.
Perhaps most significantly is that the delivery of health care now requires fast internet service. Telemedicine has moved to the mainstream and is here to stay. Almost all basic health care has been delivered online since March.
The demand for counseling and other mental health service has soared since Americans have been sheltering in their homes. Providers have met the demand by using secure online platforms that bring them face-to-face with patients. A provider told me recently that online therapy is preferable to an office visit during a pandemic where social distancing protocols would have to be followed.
“To do my job I need to be able to see my patient’s face,” he explained. “That is not possible if they are wearing a mask.”
This is not the first time rural areas have been left wandering in a technological wasteland. In 1936, in the midst of the Great Depression, Congress passed the Rural Electrification Act (REA;)
its goal to bring electricity to “the last mile “ meaning every home in America. REA crews travelled throughout the country wiring rural homes.
The REA worked with private companies to service the last mile. It took two decades; the job was declared complete in the late 1950s.
Broadband service is still delivered using many technologies. Service is available from landline, cable, wireless and satellite providers. In most underserved rural areas, access is by satellite or wireless. Few here expect fast service anytime soon. I have heard this comment more than once: “Super fast 5G, who wants 5G? I’ll settle for any G!”
There are public ISPs but private companies dominate a market in which competition has been shrinking. It will take a serious public/private partnership to bring broadband to the last mile. And like every other need identified by this pandemic it will cost millions to complete.
The White House and governors speak everyday about restarting and reinvigorating the economy. The president has openly called for all schools to open in the Fall. Presumably they mean the entire country, not just areas with fast internet service.
The post Covid-19 school and workplace will be different. Working from home, distance learning and telemedicine are with us for the foreseeable future, perhaps forever. If the entire nation is to recover, rural America needs a technology upgrade!
Be safe!
The 73rd Year
Day 60
Lightning-fast broadband internet. Now more than ever America needs it!
Unfortunately almost 25 percent of rural America, or about 14.5 million million users, do not have it. Slow internet service has been a problem for years but the Covid-19 pandemic has made it much, much worse at a time when speed is much, much more important.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has declared that an Internet Service Provider (ISP) must deliver at least 25 Mbps download speed and three Mbps upload speed to qualify as broadband.
In urban/suburban areas this is no problem. But many rural Americans are lucky to plod along at 4 Mbps download and during high use times it can shrink to far less than two.
My sons are scattered around cities in the northeast. They reported the following speeds during prime time Sunday night:
* Boston - 95.7 download/ 5.81 upload
* Providence - 92.5 download/72.4 upload
* Brooklyn -155.6 download/34.9 upload
* Rural Vermont -2.69 download/1.09 upload
My daughter-in-law up the hill from us reported that they had no service at all Sunday night.
Cost is an issue also as there is rarely any competition in rural areas. We have access to one provider and pay $90 a month for a lousy service with data limits. My son with several choices, lightning fast service and no limits pays $70 a month.
Why is this important and why now?
The Covid-19 virus ravaged urban areas first but it is now spreading rapidly through rural America. Many if not most Americans have either been ordered to stay home or have been sticking close by voluntarily since March. Schools are closed for the year. Anyone who is able to do so is working from home.
Distance learning requires fast Internet service. In its absence kids are less likely to study, learn, have access to teachers and the ability to socialize with other kids.
An online workforce requires fast internet service. It is not possible to interact with colleagues and utilize sophisticated business programs with a slow internet connection.
Perhaps most significantly is that the delivery of health care now requires fast internet service. Telemedicine has moved to the mainstream and is here to stay. Almost all basic health care has been delivered online since March.
The demand for counseling and other mental health service has soared since Americans have been sheltering in their homes. Providers have met the demand by using secure online platforms that bring them face-to-face with patients. A provider told me recently that online therapy is preferable to an office visit during a pandemic where social distancing protocols would have to be followed.
“To do my job I need to be able to see my patient’s face,” he explained. “That is not possible if they are wearing a mask.”
This is not the first time rural areas have been left wandering in a technological wasteland. In 1936, in the midst of the Great Depression, Congress passed the Rural Electrification Act (REA;)
its goal to bring electricity to “the last mile “ meaning every home in America. REA crews travelled throughout the country wiring rural homes.
The REA worked with private companies to service the last mile. It took two decades; the job was declared complete in the late 1950s.
Broadband service is still delivered using many technologies. Service is available from landline, cable, wireless and satellite providers. In most underserved rural areas, access is by satellite or wireless. Few here expect fast service anytime soon. I have heard this comment more than once: “Super fast 5G, who wants 5G? I’ll settle for any G!”
There are public ISPs but private companies dominate a market in which competition has been shrinking. It will take a serious public/private partnership to bring broadband to the last mile. And like every other need identified by this pandemic it will cost millions to complete.
The White House and governors speak everyday about restarting and reinvigorating the economy. The president has openly called for all schools to open in the Fall. Presumably they mean the entire country, not just areas with fast internet service.
The post Covid-19 school and workplace will be different. Working from home, distance learning and telemedicine are with us for the foreseeable future, perhaps forever. If the entire nation is to recover, rural America needs a technology upgrade!
Be safe!
Comments
Post a Comment