

Universal Service fund pays for rural telephone service today







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RE: Why not re-allocate all of the funds?
By CosmoJoe on 12/2/2009 1:36:48 PM , Rating: 2
After reading your post, this should be an easy question: why is the Internet a necessity for an individual? The Internet is one thing; it is a conduit of communication and information. The thing is, it is not the *only* conduit. You have television, newspaper, telephone etc. You even have access to computers and the Internet via publicly funded sources such as your local library.

Plenty of people in this country get by just fine without Internet access. They mail in checks for bills, buy things in brick and mortar stores, bank in an actual bank, etc. I work in IT and trust me, I would be in a world of hurt myself without Internet access, but my parents and plenty of people I know can get by just fine.

So in essence, the Internet is a wonderful advancement, but it is quite possible to live a very meaningful existence without it.

RE: Why not re-allocate all of the funds?
By guffwd13 on 12/2/2009 2:05:38 PM , Rating: 2
I concede that people can live meaningful lives without the internet and meant no offense to those who can.

But I do have two points. One, the internet is the most major form of communication and the only one (other than a library which is slow and limited at best) that can deliver specific information upon request. With television, if you want to learn something, not only are you limited to whats on, but also whether or not someone has produced anything in the realm of what you seek. The phone can gather specific information, but its limited to simple answers. More and more business and commercial communication is being transferred to the internet. Information upon request (within reason) should be free; ie google and Wikipedia are invaluable resources.

Can people live without them? Of course, we have for 2 million years. But for people who want to interact with the rest of the world that is evolving at the pace of new computer processors, more and more this interaction will become increasingly limited and difficult without the internet. And its not only a function of technology, but a result of user lifestyle. For example, as a child of the computer "revolution," my entire life revolves around the internet. How I keep in touch (fb, email), how I purchase goods (amazon, ebay), how I decide what to eat (recipes) is all governed by the internet. It takes too long to do it the "analog" way. If it takes me more than 10 minutes to pay all my bills for a month (from receiving the bill to processing it and submitting it) I'd have to reschedule my day to account for lost time. I simply expect my day to move at a certain pace.

I don't write holiday or birthday cards - only emails (for both green and time reasons). Most of my free time is planned with people all across the city with an hour or less of notice. I simply would not know how to communicate or relate to those with no internet. And its only going to get worse from this day on out.

Is this because I'm a bad person? Maybe. But is it really my fault that I grew up with this lifestyle and can't slow down or think outside of it?

I may be somewhat of an extreme, but everyone I know my age today - people where I've lived in CT, PA, CA and Europe all operate this way. Is my pool of friends a poor sample set of the world population. Definitely, but I don't see any reason to believe that by the time the generation of people 10 years behind me are 50 that the entire world won't be that way and probably even much more dependent on the internet in ways we have not yet imagined.

The internet is bigger than the fountain of youth, if only because its the first invention that may actually make it possible. I don't think its responsible or ethical to keep something so powerful out of the hands of people who (may) want it just because I wanted an extra pair of shoes this year.

RE: Why not re-allocate all of the funds?
By JediJeb on 12/2/2009 5:38:16 PM , Rating: 2
I use the internet a lot but I hope I am never so attached to it.

To depend on something so much is dangerous. If next week a massive solar flare hits Earth and knocks out the power grids or even some simple human mistake knocks them out for days or longer, what will you do? And before you think it is not possible or probable, Google it and see just how shakey our electronic infrastructure is to such an event. Last I read was that if it happened it could take months to bring everything back online( if from a solar flare that knocks out most of the country). The one in 1965 took a day or more in some cases to recover power the one in 2003 was similar

These were caused by simple human errors, but a natural disaster can make things even worse. The ice storm we had in our area last January knocked out power to several counties for up to 4 weeks for some people. I was without power for 12 days, a friend 21 days and even at work which is in an industrial park we had no power for 8 days. The ice actually collapsed several of the large main transmission lines coming from the power plant. Cell service, electricity, phone service, even water in some places was out during this. I'm just glad I was raised in a rural area so I knew how to survive without such conveniences ( which is what they are, not rights ).

"To depend on something so much is dangerous."












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