The Internet….some global perspective

As I write this, the FCC in the U.S. is about to release its National Broadband Plan which is sure to contain a variety of lofty numbers based on the “100 million with access to 100Mbps” phrase which keeps getting bandied about.  In fact the US government even has its own bandwidth measurement tool.  It’s great that they are thinking ahead and creating a road map.  For that, I applaud them.  Of course the question remains, will it pan out and will the people really benefit?  My biggest concern:  will it be affordable?

With the imminent release of that report, my first thought was: Canada, care to step up to the plate?  That’s when a recent survey by BBC World Service crossed my desktop.  A global study of more than 27,000 people that were asked a few simple but poignant internet related questions. Being from Canada and in internet related businesses for many years, I often take Internet access for granted, so I had to read on and find out more about how the rest of the world feels.

A few key findings jumped out at me right away.  The first being that only about half of those surveyed felt that the internet was a safe place where they could express their feelings.  What surprised me more was that Japan, France and Germany were some of the highest ranking countries in terms of not feeling safe expressing their opinions online.  I had expected countries with more oppressive governments to be higher ranked.  What is going on in these countries that I’m not aware of?

The next item that came as a real shock was that only 53% felt that no government anywhere should regulate the internet.  This particular topic is one that I hold close and strongly oppose any type of government meddling.  I wrongly assumed that the vast majority would feel the same way.  I didn’t have to look very far as even right here at home, Canadians responding to the survey had the majority accepting some type of internet regulation.

But, far and away the most intriguing statistic for me was that 79% agreed that access to the internet should be a fundamental right.  I had to stop and really let that sink in.  It truly shows how important the internet has become for people, for various reasons, all over the world.  The ability to research, learn and communicate has obviously had a staggering impact, one that I did not fully appreciate.  While I consider the internet an integral part of my life, one that, like many who responded to the survey indicated they might have a tough time coping without, I had never considered it to quite that extent.  As the world still grapples with maintaining basic human rights I can’t quite see the internet in that league.  Can you?

Fast track to broadband

With Google’s announcement that they will be providing broadband access to unserved areas with Google Fiber For Communities, it left me thinking about how Canada’s needs are being addressed.  The process started in 2001 with the allocation of $35 million in the Liberal government’s budget for rural broadband development.  Successive governments have been promising and funding broadband initiatives and yet here we sit in 2010 with almost 20% of Canada’s rural areas not having access to broadband.

The current Conservative government in Canada is now pointing at 2016 as a target date for rolling out broadband Canada-wide.  This is not to point a finger at the Canadian government or Canadian telecoms.  Clearly Google is stepping in because the U.S. government and American telecoms have not got the job done either.  Large telecoms have no financial interest in moving into rural areas where the concentration of users is low and the investment per user large.

So who is going to bring broadband to rural Canada?  Well there are two very interesting case studies out there at the moment.  The first is a private/public partnership that seems to be to having some success in Nova Scotia, where the BroadBand for Rural Nova Scotia initiative has a stated goal of providing 100% broadband access to all of Nova Scotia.  While this private/public partnership has worked, there is another solution which relies on the individual entrepreneur to find the answers. The startup culture has always been rich in the internet space and it seems no surprise that this innovative culture would find a way to bring broadband to areas government and large business has not.

Silo Wireless from Burford Ontario is providing high speed internet access to rural Brant County.  Despite being less than two hours from Toronto and not in a remote part of the country, many of those who live in rural areas in Southern Ontario have limited access to high speed internet and the large carriers are not offering to supply a solution.  Silo Wireless stepped in with a low-cost answer.  Silo Wireless does exactly what their name suggests.  They mount transmission devices on the farm silos that dot the countryside and provide a wireless transmission network.   Customers install a small receiver on their rooftop and are given access to high speed internet access.  While this may not match the speeds that fibre can provide, the fact is a small two  person startup has been able to provide high speed internet to families, schools and businesses that had been unable to get a solution from large providers and government programs.