Ulmo
join:2005-09-22
San Jose, CA Reviews:
 ·SONIC.NET
1 edit | reply to manfmmd
Re: Not really a compelling said by manfmmd:argument FOR government funded broadband access: •22% of Americans do not use the Internet at all. - Broadband won't make a difference in these numbers. 22% don't use broadband because they don't WANT to. Some portion of the 22% anyway.
•6% of Americans use dial-up as their main form of home access. Perhaps that's all they need. There was no distinction made between those that have to have dial-up because of a lack of broadband access and those that choose to have dial-up. Right.
•Broadband adoption drops to 40% for homes with an income below $20,000. - Are these the same people that are making a choice to put food on the table and to keep the electricity on instead of buying broadband internet service? If so, good for theM! Perhaps more people making under $20K need to make this choice as well. Hmm. I will leave this open for discussion without choosing a side. I have been known to get welfare food and not loose my broadband. Loosing my broadband tends to cost more than keeping it, in most real-life scenereos in which I experience it, so determining when it's ok to pull the plug is rather difficult. The problem is more often when I am getting welfare food and don't have broadband and can't save or gain money because of that, than when I have broadband and need welfare food, so I guess I'm leaning toward keeping the broadband.
•Just 35% of senior citizens (above 65) have a broadband connection. - This too is a red herring. Just because there is a new technology doesn't mean that 100% of a group of people are going to use it. These people are more than likely either happy with what they have (TV, newspaper, telephone, etc,) or they are in some sort of nursing home/hospice care facility. Right, in addition to those many seniors who don't need broadband, because they don't have to participate in the modern world, since they don't work, or already have savings and/or experience that allows them to work in lower capacities, and they already have homes, cars, etc.. Along with this, a lot of senior-targeted systems*, market-based and not, tend to cater to senior's lower attachment to broadband, and Internet in general.
(* Systems means any aspect of life, e.g., food, sleep, entertainment, etc.. It fits nicely if you think of "system" as "product line", but it doesn't have to mean that, e.g., it could be "energy", "family", etc..)
I think there's a tendency that if it's there, it gets used, and if it is not there, it doesn't get used. If it's somewhat there, it gets somewhat used. Poor and old people don't need to interact intelligently and/or as immediately/anonymously/stupidly to the same extent that middle-aged and young people of means do, regardless of what levels are necessary for whatever thresholds. |
