Unwiring the city - Internet-access as a basic public good
Just as roads, electricity, water supply and sewerage are goods that any member of the public should have access to, should internet be made available to everyone too? Arguably, in today's world, telephone connections are only slightly less important than electricity or water. Extending this argument, not just telephone connections, but the entire gamut of telecom connections are becoming "basic goods".
But what about the notion of "scarce resources"? If the goods that a government has to provide demand scarce resources such as money, manpower and government time, should the govt set aside internet access in favour of water supply (for example). Not for very long, because internet access is becoming a basic building block of business and life itself.
Perhaps the best way to provide universal internet access ("democratise" in the words of a West Coast blogger) is to unwire. That is, create huge communities or geographies with easy access to wireless internet. Then, anyone with a laptop or a comparable instrument with a chip can potentially wire himself to the WWW. I have heard that some US cities are trying this out in partnership with the private sector (Philly, PA and Portland, OR if I remember right).
As usual, east Asia is one step ahead. The Taiwanese (who along with the Koreans and the Japanese are any electronic gadget marketer's dream consumers) are trying this out in Taipei, their capital. Seoul and Osaka are set to follow suit.
The basic conditions for a city to unwire are (a) high density of population (b) high tech awareness (c) high-rise buildings to set up access points. Does your city have all these?
But what about the notion of "scarce resources"? If the goods that a government has to provide demand scarce resources such as money, manpower and government time, should the govt set aside internet access in favour of water supply (for example). Not for very long, because internet access is becoming a basic building block of business and life itself.
Perhaps the best way to provide universal internet access ("democratise" in the words of a West Coast blogger) is to unwire. That is, create huge communities or geographies with easy access to wireless internet. Then, anyone with a laptop or a comparable instrument with a chip can potentially wire himself to the WWW. I have heard that some US cities are trying this out in partnership with the private sector (Philly, PA and Portland, OR if I remember right).
As usual, east Asia is one step ahead. The Taiwanese (who along with the Koreans and the Japanese are any electronic gadget marketer's dream consumers) are trying this out in Taipei, their capital. Seoul and Osaka are set to follow suit.
The basic conditions for a city to unwire are (a) high density of population (b) high tech awareness (c) high-rise buildings to set up access points. Does your city have all these?
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