tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/internet-access-12991/articlesInternet access – The Conversation2024-03-06T06:18:49Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2251682024-03-06T06:18:49Z2024-03-06T06:18:49ZNBN upgrade: what a free speed increase for fast broadband plans would mean for consumers and retailers<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/580058/original/file-20240306-26-onsg4t.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C10%2C2396%2C1688&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">NBN Co</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The National Broadband Network may offer a significant speed boost to many users, if a <a href="https://minister.infrastructure.gov.au/rowland/media-release/fibre-investment-unlocks-proposal-turbo-charge-speeds-nbn">plan from NBN Co</a>, the operator of the network, is implemented. NBN Co’s proposed upgrade would provide download speeds up to five times faster for users on its three fastest home services (Home Fast, Home Superfast and Home Ultrafast).</p>
<p>The speed boost would come at no extra wholesale cost to retailers. On its face, this is an exciting announcement that aims to meet consumer demand for higher speed broadband connections to the internet. </p>
<p>NBN Co has <a href="https://www.nbnco.com.au/corporate-information/media-centre/media-statements/nbn-plans-to-accelerate-highest-speed-tiers">highlighted</a> the rationale for this move. The average Australian household now has around 22 internet-connected devices, and this is expected to grow to 33 by 2026. Data usage per household has doubled in the past five years, and now averages 443 gigabytes per month.</p>
<p><iframe id="NmLBb" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/NmLBb/1/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<h2>Why do people want more data?</h2>
<p>Higher data usage is being driven by new applications, entertainment and online gaming. For example, game updates can be as large as 30 or more gigabytes today. If games update regularly, the amount of data used each month increases quickly.</p>
<p>Entertainment too is using more data. Most streaming video today is provided in a 720p format, but newer televisions can display content at the higher-resolution 4K format. With faster broadband speeds becoming more common, consumers should anticipate more 4K content becoming available.</p>
<p>Likewise, virtual reality and augmented reality are relatively new technologies that are slowly becoming integrated with gaming and business systems. These high data usage technologies are likely to become more present in our daily lives over the next decade.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/580077/original/file-20240306-22-g3idi5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/580077/original/file-20240306-22-g3idi5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/580077/original/file-20240306-22-g3idi5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580077/original/file-20240306-22-g3idi5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580077/original/file-20240306-22-g3idi5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580077/original/file-20240306-22-g3idi5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580077/original/file-20240306-22-g3idi5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580077/original/file-20240306-22-g3idi5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.nbnco.com.au/corporate-information/media-centre/media-statements/nbn-plans-to-accelerate-highest-speed-tiers">NBN Co</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>When would the upgrades happen?</h2>
<p>NBN Co has indicated it would like to start providing the new higher speed products later this year, or early next year. The upgrade would be achieved by increasing the overall capacity of the NBN, which could then be “shared out” to consumers. </p>
<p>The NBN Co announcement is something the service providers should have expected at some point soon.</p>
<p>NBN Co’s announcement, coming only months after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) approved a proposal for <a href="https://www.accc.gov.au/media-release/new-nbn-regulation-will-promote-competition-and-long-term-interests-of-australians">major annual price increases</a>, may not be welcomed by all broadband retailers. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/nbn-upgrades-explained-how-will-they-make-internet-speeds-faster-and-will-the-regions-miss-out-146749">NBN upgrades explained: how will they make internet speeds faster? And will the regions miss out?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>A spokesperson for the second largest broadband retailer, TPG Telecom, told <a href="https://www.commsday.com/">CommsDay</a> yesterday:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>It took more than two years to finalise [the new pricing approved by the ACCC] and only three months for NBN Co to undermine the certainty it was supposed to create. We will always welcome opportunities to deliver greater service and speed to our customers, but NBN’s monopolistic whims make genuine collaboration with them very difficult.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Retailers understandably want certainty in wholesale pricing. One difficulty in achieving this is the high cost of “backhaul” in Australia: this is an intermediate connection between service providers and the NBN itself. Larger retailers have their own backhaul infrastructure, but smaller retailers must pay a third party.</p>
<p>If the NBN offers higher speed broadband connections, smaller retailers may end up paying more for backhaul – and will be faced with a dilemma over whether to pass these extra costs to consumers. </p>
<p>Telstra and Optus have broadly supported the plan by NBN Co to move to new technologies that offer the higher speed capabilities.</p>
<h2>A faster network may entice consumers</h2>
<p>Aussie Broadband Group managing director Phillip Britt told <a href="https://gizmodo.com.au/2024/03/nbn-500-telstra-optus-tpg-aussie/">Gizmodo Australia</a>: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Aussie Broadband is still understanding the detail of NBN Co’s speed proposal, but on the face of it, it could represent one of the most exciting steps in technology adoption for Australian households and businesses.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>For NBN Co, the boost for the higher-speed plans may entice consumers to move from basic 50 Mbps plans to the upgraded Home Fast plan (which will offer download speeds of 500 Mbps, up from the current 100 Mbps).</p>
<p>NBN Co may also hope this encourages the remaining consumers with copper “fibre to the node” connections to move to “fibre to the premises” by taking advantage of one of the low or no cost upgrade offers available through retailers.</p>
<p>NBN Co has issued a consultation paper to retailers, asking for their feedback on the proposed changes to the high speed products by April 19 2024.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/225168/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mark A Gregory does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Australia’s NBN Co wants to offer services up to five times as fast at no extra cost. What’s the catch?Mark A Gregory, Associate Professor, School of Engineering, RMIT UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2229052024-02-27T14:08:45Z2024-02-27T14:08:45ZAfrica needs China for its digital development – but at what price?<p>Digital technologies have many potential benefits for people in African countries. They can support the delivery of healthcare services, promote access to education and lifelong learning, and enhance financial inclusion. </p>
<p>But there are obstacles to realising these benefits. The backbone infrastructure needed to connect communities is missing in places. Technology and finance are lacking too. </p>
<p>In 2023, only <a href="https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Documents/facts/ITU_regional_global_Key_ICT_indicator_aggregates_Nov_2023.xlsx">83%</a> of the population of sub-Saharan Africa was covered by at least a 3G mobile network. In all other regions the coverage was more than 95%. In the same year, <a href="https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Documents/facts/ITU_regional_global_Key_ICT_indicator_aggregates_Nov_2023.xlsx">less than half of Africa’s population</a> had an active mobile broadband subscription, lagging behind Arab states (75%) and the Asia-Pacific region (88%). Therefore, Africans made up a substantial share of the estimated <a href="https://www.itu.int/en/mediacentre/Pages/PR-2023-09-12-universal-and-meaningful-connectivity-by-2030.aspx#:%7E:text=The%20number%20of%20people%20worldwide,global%20population%20unconnected%20in%202023.">2.6 billion</a> people globally who remained offline in 2023.</p>
<p>A <a href="https://gga.org/china-expands-its-digital-sovereignty-to-africa/">key partner</a> in Africa in unclogging this bottleneck is China. Several African countries depend on China as their main technology provider and sponsor of large digital infrastructural projects.</p>
<p>This relationship is the subject of a <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09692290.2023.2297363">study</a> I published recently. The study showed that at least 38 countries worked closely with Chinese companies to advance their domestic fibre-optic network and data centre infrastructure or their technological know-how. </p>
<p>China’s involvement was critical as African countries made great strides in digital development. Despite the persisting digital divide between Africa and other regions, 3G network coverage <a href="https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Documents/facts/ITU_regional_global_Key_ICT_indicator_aggregates_Nov_2023.xlsx">increased from 22% to 83%</a> between 2010 and 2023. Active mobile broadband subscriptions increased <a href="https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Documents/facts/ITU_regional_global_Key_ICT_indicator_aggregates_Nov_2023.xlsx">from less than 2% in 2010 to 48% in 2023</a>. </p>
<p>For governments, however, there is a risk that foreign-driven digital development will keep existing dependence structures in place.</p>
<h2>Reasons for dependence on foreign technology and finance</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09692290.2023.2297363">global market</a> for information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure is controlled by a handful of producers. For instance, the main suppliers of fibre-optic cables, a network component that enables high-speed internet, are China-based Huawei and ZTE and the Swedish company Ericsson. </p>
<p>Many African countries, with limited internal revenues, can’t afford these network components. Infrastructure investments depend on foreign finance, including concessional loans, commercial credits, or public-private partnerships. These may also <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308596124000107">influence a state’s choice of infrastructure provider</a>.</p>
<p>The African continent’s terrain adds to the technological and financial difficulties. Vast lands and challenging topographies make the roll-out of infrastructure very expensive. Private investors avoid sparsely populated areas because it doesn’t pay them to deliver a service there. </p>
<p>Landlocked states depend on the infrastructure and goodwill of coastal countries to connect to international fibre-optic landing stations.</p>
<h2>A full-package solution</h2>
<p>It is sometimes assumed that African leaders choose Chinese providers because they offer the cheapest technology. <a href="https://www.zdnet.com/home-and-office/networking/uganda-orders-probe-into-huaweis-fiber-project/">Anecdotal evidence suggests otherwise</a>. Chinese contractors are attractive partners because they can offer full-package solutions that include finance. </p>
<p>Under the so-called <a href="https://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PA00TN5G.pdf">“EPC+F”</a> (Engineer, Procure, Construct + Fund/Finance) scheme, Chinese companies like Huawei and ZTE oversee the engineering, procurement and construction while Chinese banks provide state-backed finance. Angola, Uganda and Zambia are just some of the countries which seem to have benefited from this type of deal.</p>
<p>All-round solutions like this appeal to African countries. </p>
<h2>What is in it for China?</h2>
<p>As part of its <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-137-57813-6_6">“go-global”</a> strategy, the Chinese government encourages Chinese companies to invest and operate overseas. The government offers financial backing and expects companies to raise the global competitiveness of Chinese products and the national economy. </p>
<p>In the long term, Beijing seeks to establish and promote Chinese digital standards and norms. Research partnerships and training opportunities expose a growing number of students to Chinese technology. The Chinese government’s expectation is that mobile applications and startups in Africa will increasingly reflect Beijing’s technological and ideological principles. That includes China’s interpretation of human rights, data privacy and freedom of speech. </p>
<p>This aligns with the vision of China’s “<a href="https://www.orfonline.org/research/the-digital-silk-road-in-the-indo-pacific-mapping-china-s-vision-for-global-tech-expansion">Digital Silk Road</a>”, which complements its <a href="https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/chinas-massive-belt-and-road-initiative">Belt and Road Initiative</a>, creating new trade routes. </p>
<p>In the digital realm, the goal is technological primacy and greater autonomy from western suppliers. The government is striving for a more <a href="https://thediplomat.com/2021/04/chinas-digital-silk-road-and-the-global-digital-order/">Sino-centric global digital order</a>. Infrastructure investments and training partnerships in African countries offer a starting point. </p>
<h2>Long-term implications</h2>
<p>From a technological perspective, over-reliance on a single infrastructure supplier makes the client state more vulnerable. When a customer depends heavily on a particular supplier, it’s difficult and costly to switch to a different provider. African countries could become locked into the Chinese digital ecosystem.</p>
<p>Researchers like <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Arthur-Gwagwa">Arthur Gwagwa</a> from the Ethics Institute at Utrecht University (Netherlands) believe that China’s export of critical infrastructure components will <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/africa-embraces-huawei-technology-despite-security-concerns/a-60665700">enable military and industrial espionage</a>. These claims assert that Chinese-made equipment is designed in a way that could facilitate cyber attacks. </p>
<p>Human Rights Watch, an international NGO that conducts research and advocacy on human rights, has <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/05/09/future-technology-lessons-china-and-us">raised concerns</a> that Chinese infrastructure increases the risk of technology-enabled authoritarianism. In particular, Huawei has been <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/huawei-technicians-helped-african-governments-spy-on-political-opponents-11565793017">accused</a> of colluding with governments to spy on political opponents in Uganda and Zambia. Huawei has <a href="https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3023215/huawei-denies-helping-governments-uganda-and-zambia-spy">denied</a> the allegations. </p>
<h2>The way forward</h2>
<p>Chinese involvement provides a rapid path to digital progress for African nations. It also exposes African states to the risk of long-term dependence. The remedy is to diversify infrastructure supply, training opportunities and partnerships. </p>
<p>There is also a need to call for interoperability in international forums such as the <a href="https://www.itu.int/en/Pages/default.aspx">International Telecommunications Union</a>, a UN agency responsible for issues related to information and communication technologies. Interoperability allows a product or system to interact with other products and systems. It means clients can buy technological components from different providers and switch to other technological solutions. It favours market competition and higher quality solutions by preventing users from being locked in to one vendor. </p>
<p>Finally, in the long term African countries should produce their own infrastructure and become less dependent.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222905/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stephanie Arnold does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>In sub-Saharan Africa, most governments welcome China’s investment in digital infrastructure.Stephanie Arnold, PhD Candidate, Università di BolognaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2180622023-12-06T15:53:38Z2023-12-06T15:53:38ZRural communities are being left behind because of poor digital infrastructure, research shows<p>In an era where businesses and households depend on the internet for everything from marketing to banking and shopping, the lack of adequate digital access can be a significant hurdle. And our recent research shows that many <a href="https://research.aber.ac.uk/en/publications/the-socio-economic-impact-of-the-covid-19-pandemic-on-ceredigion-">homes</a> and <a href="https://research.aber.ac.uk/en/publications/the-economic-impact-of-the-covid-19-pandemic-on-ceredigion-busine">businesses</a> in the UK are being left stranded in the digital age.</p>
<p>Our two studies focused on a rural county in Wales, Ceredigion, where the lack of reliable digital infrastructure worsened the impacts of the pandemic on families and businesses. Poor digital accessibility and connectivity exacerbated the stress levels of families who were already having to juggle home schooling and working from home. </p>
<p>Similarly, businesses had to struggle with issues around internet provision, availability of effective digital infrastructure and digital proficiency while working and running businesses from home. </p>
<p>Our research involved two online surveys. One focused on households and the other on businesses and the self-employed between April and June 2021. The survey questions were designed to address the challenges and opportunities brought about by the pandemic. </p>
<p>Some important themes emerged in the responses we received to both surveys. These were insufficient digital accessibility and connectivity, lack of digital skills and training opportunities and the cost of broadband and mobile access.</p>
<h2>Household experiences</h2>
<p>Our research showed that 12% of homes did not have enough digital equipment for their needs during the pandemic and 76% of these included children who were being home schooled. Schools and some workplaces provided equipment in some instances, but 18% of households had to borrow equipment. </p>
<p>Despite that ability to borrow, many homes found themselves juggling equipment between homeworking adults and children learning online. Many pupils relied on small mobile devices to access lessons, while others lacked access to equipment like printers.</p>
<p>These problems were compounded in rural and remote areas, where slow broadband speeds and a lack of reliable mobile signal were cited as the biggest issues. Other issues included the cost of broadband and mobile access, the lack of digital skills or training opportunities to improve digital skills, poor customer service from broadband providers and issues with connectivity.</p>
<h2>Business and self-employed experiences</h2>
<p>The pandemic brought similar challenges to businesses. The closure of non-essential firms during the pandemic led to a <a href="https://www.oecd.org/coronavirus/policy-responses/e-commerce-in-the-time-of-covid-19-3a2b78e8/">surge</a> in e-commerce. Companies that could embrace online sales were able to continue operating despite lockdowns and restrictions. </p>
<p>But businesses that were slow to adopt e-commerce or lacked the necessary infrastructure struggled to adapt. In fact, our research found that 47% of businesses faced difficulties with digital access and connectivity during the pandemic. Some of the other issues faced by businesses included:</p>
<p>• a lack of reliable broadband or mobile (37%)</p>
<p>• slow broadband speed (29%)</p>
<p>• poor mobile signal (26%)</p>
<p>• lack of digital skills or access to training schemes (16%)</p>
<p>• the cost of access (13%)</p>
<p>People working from home in rural locations also had problems due to a lack of digital infrastructure, poor connectivity and a lack of digital skills. </p>
<h2>Bridging the gap</h2>
<p>In the future, an increased reliance on online work, education and public services, such as online health and welfare support, will further disadvantage those without adequate internet access. The digital divide is widening between those with higher incomes and those with lower incomes. </p>
<p>For example, households with higher incomes were <a href="https://www.scirp.org/reference/referencespapers?referenceid=3051117">more likely</a> to have had access to technology for home schooling and remote working during the pandemic, unlike those with lower incomes.</p>
<p>The gap in access to digital technology is often determined by location too. Remote and sparsely populated areas often lack adequate broadband and mobile signal coverage. Bridging this digital divide is crucial for economic growth, social inclusion and access to essential services. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-teachers-supported-children-and-parents-through-covid-19-school-closures-181380">How teachers supported children and parents through COVID-19 school closures</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>To address the digital divide, the UK and devolved governments need to invest in digital infrastructure in rural areas to ensure that everywhere has at least a minimum quality coverage. Local authorities could introduce schemes that enable people to gain access to cost-effective computer devices and internet access.</p>
<p>Expanding digital literacy and empowering businesses in rural areas is also crucial. Enhancing digital skills training would better prepare future generations for the digital world. </p>
<p>Additionally, businesses in rural areas require tailored support, such as funding for digital infrastructure upgrades, training opportunities and guidance on consumer privacy and protection, to enable their digital growth and sustainability.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/218062/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Aloysius Igboekwu currently volunteers for a Childcare charity as a Trustee. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Maria Plotnikova and Sarah Lindop do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>New research reveals the digital divide that was exposed by the COVID pandemic.Aloysius Igboekwu, Senior Lecturer in Finance, Aberystwyth UniversityMaria Plotnikova, Lecturer in Economics, Aberystwyth UniversitySarah Lindop, Senior Lecturer in Finance, Aberystwyth UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2143562023-11-20T13:16:12Z2023-11-20T13:16:12ZEvery state is about to dole out federal funding for broadband internet – not every state is ready for the task<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/560080/original/file-20231116-15-4w7a3h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5275%2C3514&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Biden administration set the amounts of federal funding each state will receive to expand access to broadband internet.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/BroadbandRural/b927bd2db71b4b2cb00e451d87aed05f/photo">AP Photo/Evan Vucci</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>When the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act was signed in late 2021, it included <a href="https://broadbandusa.ntia.doc.gov/news/latest-news/ntias-role-implementing-broadband-provisions-2021-infrastructure-investment-and">US$42.5 billion for broadband</a> internet access as part of the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program. The program aims to ensure that broadband access is available throughout the country. This effort differs from previous federal broadband programs because it promised to <a href="https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/about/news-room/opinion/2021/11/17/broadband-and-the-states-the-critical-role-of-partnerships">allocate the funding to individual states</a> and allow them to figure out the best way to distribute it. </p>
<p>Nearly two years later, the federal government informed the states <a href="https://www.ntia.gov/press-release/2023/biden-harris-administration-announces-state-allocations-4245-billion-high-speed">exactly how much money each will be getting</a>. The sizes of the awards are significant: 19 states will receive over $1 billion, and the average award across the 50 states is $817 million. Texas received the largest allocation at over $3.3 billion.</p>
<p>The states are working with the federal government to develop plans for how they will distribute those funds. The states have until Dec. 27, 2023, to submit their initial proposals. As of Nov. 15, no state had completed that process. </p>
<p>Even after the states receive the federal funding, it’s expected to take years for the states to award contracts to internet service providers to install the broadband networks and for the companies to complete the work. States are also in something of a race with one another: The first ones to the funding can get money to the private sector, which can begin hiring from the limited pool of technicians capable of installing fiber optic cables.</p>
<p><iframe id="2EVQ5" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/2EVQ5/3/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<h2>Plans and deadlines</h2>
<p>An estimated <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1m6CsGY7qxZqoC4bedRemYjLLnPpITxHYNXG3X03Sy7Y/edit#gid=1761704324">11.8 million locations</a> – households and businesses, rural and urban – are considered either unserved or underserved. Unserved locations are those where providers only offer internet speeds below 25Mbps downstream and 3Mbps upstream. Underserved locations are those where providers offer internet speeds below 100Mbps downstream and 20Mbps upstream.</p>
<p>Each state’s plans for how to get broadband service to those locations must be approved by the overseeing organization, the <a href="https://www.ntia.gov/">National Telecommunications and Information Administration</a>. The <a href="https://broadbandusa.ntia.gov/sites/default/files/2023-07/BEAD_Initial_Proposal_Guidance_Volumes_I_II.pdf">plans must include</a> information on existing broadband funding that has yet to be deployed from <a href="https://www.usac.org/high-cost/funds/acam/">other</a> <a href="https://www.usda.gov/reconnect">federal</a> <a href="https://www.usac.org/high-cost/funds/rural-digital-opportunity-fund/">programs</a>, plans for handling challenges, plans to coordinate with tribal and regional entities, how the state will address the need to recruit and train workers to install broadband, and how it will address the issue of broadband affordability. States’ <a href="https://broadbandusa.ntia.doc.gov/public-notice-posting-state-and-territory-bead-and-digital-equity-plansproposals">initial proposals</a> can be viewed online.</p>
<p>A <a href="https://www.internetforall.gov/bead-initial-proposal-progress-dashboard">dashboard the federal government recently released</a> summarizes the progress made by all 50 states plus U.S. territories in getting these plans approved and receiving the first chunk of the promised funding. Some states are further along than others. </p>
<p><iframe id="L6h2f" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/L6h2f/1/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>The dashboard includes eight steps each state or territory must complete before getting the first 20% of its promised allocation. As of Nov. 15, 2023, most states had completed four of the process’s eight steps. Only three states – Louisiana, Nevada and Virginia – had finished six or more steps. Notably, Louisiana and Virginia had <a href="https://theconversation.com/is-your-state-ready-to-handle-the-influx-of-federal-funds-for-expanding-broadband-172131">broadband offices up and running</a> for at least three years prior to the passage of the infrastructure legislation in 2021.</p>
<p>With the <a href="https://www.telecompetitor.com/what-state-broadband-offices-are-focused-on-now-bead-initial-proposals-and-more/">due date for submitting plans</a> Dec. 27 and a public comment period that’s required to be open for 30 days, many states could be pushing the deadline. States that miss the deadline could lose out on the funding. States are likely to begin distributing their broadband funds sometime in 2024, and implementation of the plans is expected to <a href="https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/issue-briefs/2023/01/what-states-need-to-know-about-federal-bead-funding-for-high-speed-internet-expansion">take four years</a>. </p>
<p>There are real-world impacts related to which states receive funding first. The vast majority of the funds are <a href="https://www.fiercetelecom.com/broadband/broadband-industry-sounds-bead-funding-reveal">expected to be spent on fiber-optic infrastructure</a>, and <a href="https://www.fiercetelecom.com/broadband/workforce-short-enthusiasm-where-are-all-fiber-technicians">the telecom industry has concerns</a> about the <a href="https://broadbandbreakfast.com/2023/05/ntia-workforce-development-requirements-may-prove-too-restrictive/">availability of technicians</a> to install it. One recent survey also found that 20% of the expected hires will be for <a href="https://www.benton.org/blog/broadband-workforce-survey-shows-challenges-providers-expect-during-bead-rollout">engineer or manager positions</a>. </p>
<p>Internet providers that successfully apply for grants in one state may quickly hire a larger percentage of available local technicians and engineers, leaving neighboring states with an even larger workforce gap. Along the same lines, most broadband projects require <a href="https://www.ppc-online.com/blog/installing-aerial-fiber-what-are-the-options">specific types of equipment</a>, which will be in high demand once the money starts flowing. </p>
<h2>Other state-level funds</h2>
<p>It is important to note that there are other ongoing state-level broadband infrastructure programs. In particular, the 2021 American Recovery Plan Act provided <a href="https://home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/coronavirus/assistance-for-state-local-and-tribal-governments/state-and-local-fiscal-recovery-funds">State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds</a> and <a href="https://home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/coronavirus/assistance-for-state-local-and-tribal-governments/capital-projects-fund">Capital Projects Funds</a> to each state, many of which have been used for broadband purposes. </p>
<p>While no state-level summary of these projects exists, to the best of my knowledge, they often include significant amounts of money. For example, Missouri recently awarded <a href="https://governor.mo.gov/press-releases/archive/state-awards-261-million-through-broadband-infrastructure-grant-program-fund">$261 million from the State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds</a> Program for broadband projects and another <a href="https://home.treasury.gov/news/featured-stories/biden-harris-administration-announces-florida-georgia-iowa-minnesota-missouri-and-utah-to-receive-nearly-1-billion-in-american-rescue-plan-funds-to-increase-access-to-affordable-high-speed-internet">$197 million in Capital Projects</a> funds. Combined, this adds another $458 million to the $1.7 billion that Missouri will be receiving from the broadband program. This $458 million comes with shorter turnaround times than the broadband funds because they were allocated under the American Recovery Plan Act and those funds must be spent by the end of 2026. </p>
<p>Additionally, the broadband program included $2.7 billion for <a href="https://www.digitalinclusion.org/definitions/">digital equity</a> work, and states have been <a href="https://broadbandusa.ntia.doc.gov/public-notice-posting-state-and-territory-bead-and-digital-equity-plansproposals">developing these plans</a> as well. The Digital Equity Act programs aim to ensure that all Americans have access to the skills and technology needed to function in the digital economy. The deadline for state digital equity plans varies by state, but the original timeline calls for awards to be made in 2024. Most of these awards are expected to go to community-based entities (libraries, nonprofits, religious organizations, etc.) to help people gain digital skills. </p>
<h2>Lots of work left to do</h2>
<p>Once states receive their broadband funding, they still have to set up a mechanism to request proposals from internet service providers, grade the proposals that come in, and oversee the challenge process for rejected proposals that is likely to follow. Some of the initial 20% of the funding that states receive <a href="https://www.telecompetitor.com/initial-20-of-bead-funding-unlikely-to-be-used-for-broadband-awards/">will be used for those purposes</a>. Only after the awards are made and challenges settled will the providers ramp up their workforces, purchase the relevant equipment and begin work.</p>
<p>So while the broadband funding holds great promise for the 11.2 million locations across the country that do not have access to a high-quality broadband connection, many still have a long wait ahead of them.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/214356/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Brian Whitacre has received funding from USDA Rural Utilities Service, USDA Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Regional Rural Development Centers, Association of Public Land-Grant Universities, Nebraska College of Law, Institute of Museum and Library Services, Health Research Services Administration, the National Science Foundation, the Benton Foundation, and the NTCA (Rural Broadband Association).</span></em></p>Every state is poised to receive a large amount of federal money to expand broadband access, but they have a lot of work to do to meet the government’s requirements for distributing it.Brian Whitacre, Professor and Neustadt Chair, Department of Agricultural Economics, Oklahoma State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2160852023-10-23T04:52:58Z2023-10-23T04:52:58Z‘Digital inclusion’ and closing the gap: how First Nations leadership is key to getting remote communities online<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/555170/original/file-20231023-23-vi5czm.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C24%2C4025%2C2993&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Mapping the Digital Gap Co-researcher Guruwuy Ganambarr using her mobile phone to connect to wifi in Gäṉgaṉ homeland, East Arnhem Land, NT.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Daniel Featherstone</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>There are more than 1,500 remote First Nations communities and homelands around Australia, and about 670 of them have no mobile phone coverage. In research with 495 people from ten remote communities, we found 45.9% were “highly excluded” from increasingly important digital services and tools. </p>
<p>Digital inclusion for First Nations people is part of the <a href="https://www.closingthegap.gov.au/national-agreement">National Agreement on Closing the Gap</a>. The agreement calls for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to have “access to information and services enabling participation in informed decision-making regarding their own lives”, and “<a href="https://www.closingthegap.gov.au/national-agreement/national-agreement-closing-the-gap/7-difference/b-targets/b17">equal levels of digital inclusion as other Australians</a> by 2026”.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/for-remote-aboriginal-families-limited-phone-and-internet-services-make-life-hard-heres-what-they-told-us-201295">For remote Aboriginal families, limited phone and internet services make life hard. Here’s what they told us</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>There is still some way to go, as our research shows. As one person in a remote community described their situation, “the internet here in Galiwin’ku past 10am is hopeless. [It] further marginalises people already living in an isolated community.”</p>
<p>A <a href="https://www.digitalinclusion.gov.au/publications">new report by the First Nations Digital Inclusion Advisory Group</a>, released today, proposes a series of practical strategies to the Australian government to reduce the digital divide for First Nations Australians, particularly those living in remote communities and homelands. </p>
<h2>Digital inclusion and the digital gap</h2>
<p>We are part of a team that studies digital inclusion – the ability to access, afford, and effectively use digital technologies – across Australia. Each year, we publish the <a href="https://www.digitalinclusionindex.org.au">Australian Digital Inclusion Index</a> which gives scores out of 100 for inclusion in different regions and groups of people around the country. </p>
<p>In our <a href="https://www.admscentre.org.au/mapping-the-digital-gap/">Mapping the Digital Gap project</a>, we are researching digital inclusion among First Nations people in remote communities.</p>
<p>There is a significant gap in <a href="https://www.digitalinclusionindex.org.au/dashboard/firstnations.aspx">digital inclusion for First Nations people</a> compared with other Australians, which widens substantially with remoteness. </p>
<p>Nationally, we found a “digital gap” of 7.5 points between First Nations people and others in Australia. In remote Australia the gap is 24.4 points, and in very remote communities and homelands it is 25.3 points.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/555153/original/file-20231022-15-5ui45d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A map of Australia coloured in shades of red, with darker shades around capital cities and the east coast and lighter shades inland. A key shows how the colours correspond to different scores on the Australian Digital Inclusion Index." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/555153/original/file-20231022-15-5ui45d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/555153/original/file-20231022-15-5ui45d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=316&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555153/original/file-20231022-15-5ui45d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=316&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555153/original/file-20231022-15-5ui45d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=316&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555153/original/file-20231022-15-5ui45d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555153/original/file-20231022-15-5ui45d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555153/original/file-20231022-15-5ui45d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">First Nations scores on the Australian Digital Inclusion Index by remoteness, including the gap against the national average.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://doi.org/10.25916/a01g-fp91">Mapping the Digital Gap: 2023 Outcomes Report</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The biggest contribution to this gap comes from access to communications services. There are some 1,545 remote First Nations communities and homelands across Australia, and 670 have no mobile coverage. Many of the others need much better access to affordable and reliable connections. </p>
<p>First Nations people primarily use prepaid mobile services for voice and data, so expanded access to mobile and wifi services are a critical first step. </p>
<p>Of the 495 remote First Nations people who participated in our study, 45.9% were rated as “highly excluded” based on their inclusion index scores, compared with 9.4% of people across Australia. </p>
<h2>First Nations leadership on closing the digital gap</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.niaa.gov.au/indigenous-affairs/closing-gap/implementation-measures/first-nations-digital-inclusion-advisory-group">First Nations Digital Inclusion Advisory Group</a> was established by Minister for Communications Michelle Rowland in January 2023 to provide First Nations leadership on policy and programs to address closing the digital gap. </p>
<p>The advisory group consists of five highly experienced First Nations people, supported by a seven-person expert panel and a secretariat within the Commonwealth Department of Infrastructure. The group is chaired by veteran media professional and Noongar woman Dot West, with researcher Lyndon Ormond-Parker, an Alyawarr man and coauthor of this article, as deputy chair.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A group of nine people posing for a photograph." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/555208/original/file-20231023-25-ukugs0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/555208/original/file-20231023-25-ukugs0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555208/original/file-20231023-25-ukugs0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555208/original/file-20231023-25-ukugs0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555208/original/file-20231023-25-ukugs0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555208/original/file-20231023-25-ukugs0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555208/original/file-20231023-25-ukugs0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Members of the First Nations Digital Inclusion Advisory Group and the expert panel with Minister for Communications Michelle Rowland. Back row, left to right: Che Cockatoo-Collins, Neil Turner, Daniel Featherstone, Lyndon Ormond-Parker and Scott Winch. Front row, left to right: Lauren Ganley, Michelle Rowland, Dot West and Talei Elu.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The <a href="https://www.digitalinclusion.gov.au/publications">advisory group’s initial report</a> was released by West, Rowland, and Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney. This report follows the release of the federal government’s <a href="https://www.niaa.gov.au/resource-centre/indigenous-affairs/first-nations-digital-inclusion-plan-2023-26">First Nations Digital Inclusion Plan</a> in July.</p>
<p>In the introduction to the report, West outlines the importance of Closing the Gap Target 17:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Digital inclusion is a critical enabler for a vast array of other benefits, including health, education and social connectedness, as well as making sure First Nations people have access to the information they need to make decisions for themselves and their families.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>She describes the need for a collaborative approach to achieve this ambitious target. </p>
<blockquote>
<p>To meet Target 17 will require significant and new investment by governments in partnership with industry and those communities where the digital gap is most pronounced. The most effective approaches will be ones that reflect local priorities and are based on direct engagement with communities.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In the report, the advisory group outlines a number of practical recommendations to help close the digital gap. These include:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>providing affordable pre-paid mobile plans</p></li>
<li><p>improved access to government communications programs</p></li>
<li><p>fit-for-purpose connectivity options such as community wifi connections, prepaid NBN services, new satellite internet projects, and upgrades to improve TV access.</p></li>
</ul>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/aboriginal-communities-embrace-technology-but-they-have-unique-cyber-safety-challenges-69344">Aboriginal communities embrace technology, but they have unique cyber safety challenges</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Other recommendations are supporting the development of digital skills needed to safely and confidently use online services, and access to relevant news and media, including local First Nations services. </p>
<p>Improving national data collection for the 70% of First Nations people who live in urban and regional Australia, to measure progress, is another key recommendation. This builds on an earlier outcome of the advisory group’s advocacy, <a href="https://spatial.infrastructure.gov.au/portal/home/item.html?id=cebfe7afe0894bd9bda06edbd65b9d17">an interactive map of connectivity in First Nations communities</a>.</p>
<h2>Shared decision-making</h2>
<p>The National Agreement on Closing the Gap is built on a partnership approach between governments and First Nations people, which includes co-design and co-delivery of programs. </p>
<p>The first of the reforms at the centre of the agreement is to “strengthen and establish formal partnerships and shared decision-making”. If this reform is enacted by governments nationally, it is likely to lead to meaningful progress on Closing the Gap. </p>
<p>This advisory group provides an example of how First Nations leadership can provide practical, appropriate and evidence-based input on key policy areas that affect First Nations people and communities.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/216085/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Daniel Featherstone is employed within the RMIT University node of the ARC funded Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society (CE200100005). He leads the 'Mapping the Digital Gap' research project within the Australian Digital Inclusion Index team, both of which are primarily funded by Telstra. Daniel is also a member of the Expert Panel which support the First Nations Digital Inclusion Advisory Group.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lyndon Ormond-Parker is an Aboriginal man of Alyawarr descent from the Barkly Tablelands region of the Northern Territory. He currently holds a part-time ARC Discovery Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Award (IN220100008) with the Centre for Heritage and Museum Studies, Australian National University, and a part-time position as a Principal Research Fellow with the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society (CE200100005), RMIT on the Telstra funded project Mapping the Digital Gap. He is also deputy chair of the First Nations Digital Inclusion Advisory Group.</span></em></p>A new report shows how remote First Nations community face obstacles to digital inclusion – and what can be done to remove them.Daniel Featherstone, Senior Research Fellow, RMIT UniversityLyndon Ormond-Parker, Principal Research Fellow, RMIT UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2123672023-09-03T20:02:50Z2023-09-03T20:02:50ZGoogle turns 25: the search engine revolutionised how we access information, but will it survive AI?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/545886/original/file-20230901-27-6t1m2h.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=17%2C17%2C3976%2C1976&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/sergio28/2839726384/">Flickr/sergio m mahugo, Edited by The Conversation</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Today marks an important milestone in the history of the internet: Google’s 25th birthday. With billions of search queries submitted each day, it’s difficult to remember how we ever lived without the search engine. </p>
<p>What was it about Google that led it to revolutionise information access? And will artificial intelligence (AI) make it obsolete, or enhance it? </p>
<p>Let’s look at how our access to information has changed through the decades – and where it might lead as advanced AI and Google Search become increasingly entwined.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/545519/original/file-20230830-21-abx530.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/545519/original/file-20230830-21-abx530.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/545519/original/file-20230830-21-abx530.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=331&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/545519/original/file-20230830-21-abx530.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=331&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/545519/original/file-20230830-21-abx530.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=331&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/545519/original/file-20230830-21-abx530.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=416&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/545519/original/file-20230830-21-abx530.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=416&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/545519/original/file-20230830-21-abx530.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=416&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Google’s homepage in 1998.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Brent Payne/Flickr</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>1950s: public libraries as community hubs</h2>
<p>In the years following the second world war, it became <a href="https://www.yfanefa.com/record/2585">generally accepted</a> that a successful post-war city was one that could provide civic capabilities – and that included open access to information. </p>
<p>So in the 1950s information in Western countries was primarily provided by local libraries. Librarians themselves were a kind of “human search engine”. They answered phone queries from businesses and responded to letters – helping people find information quickly and accurately. </p>
<p>Libraries were more than just a place to borrow books. They were where parents went to look for health information, where tourists requested travel tips, and where businesses sought marketing advice. </p>
<p>The searching was free, but required librarians’ support, as well as a significant amount of labour and catalogue-driven processes. Questions we can now solve in minutes took hours, days or even weeks to answer.</p>
<h2>1990s: the rise of paid search services</h2>
<p>By the 1990s, libraries had expanded to include personal computers and online access to information services. Commercial search companies thrived as libraries could access information through expensive subscription services.</p>
<p>These systems were so complex that only trained specialists could search, with consumers paying for results. Dialog, developed at Lockheed Martin in the 1960s, remains one of the best examples. Today it claims to <a href="https://clarivate.com/products/dialog-family/">provide its customers access</a> “to over 1.7 billion records across more than 140 databases of peer-reviewed literature”.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/545517/original/file-20230830-15-dsrqp0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/545517/original/file-20230830-15-dsrqp0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/545517/original/file-20230830-15-dsrqp0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=642&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/545517/original/file-20230830-15-dsrqp0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=642&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/545517/original/file-20230830-15-dsrqp0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=642&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/545517/original/file-20230830-15-dsrqp0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=807&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/545517/original/file-20230830-15-dsrqp0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=807&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/545517/original/file-20230830-15-dsrqp0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=807&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">This photo from 1979 shows librarians at the terminals of online retrieval system Dialog.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">U.S. National Archives</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Another commercial search system, The Financial Times’ FT PROFILE, enabled access to articles in every UK broadsheet newspaper over a five-year period. </p>
<p>But searching with it wasn’t simple. Users had to remember typed commands to select a collection, using specific words to reduce the list of documents returned. Articles were ordered by date, leaving the reader to scan for the most relevant items.</p>
<p>FT PROFILE made valuable information rapidly accessible to people outside business circles, but at a high price. In the 1990s access cost <a href="https://doi.org/10.1108/eb024396">£1.60 a minute</a> – the equivalent of £4.65 (or A$9.00) today.</p>
<h2>The rise of Google</h2>
<p>Following the world wide web’s <a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/04/30/1172276538/world-wide-web-internet-anniversary#">launch in 1993</a>, the number of websites grew exponentially.</p>
<p>Libraries provided public web access, and services such as the State Library of Victoria’s <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vicnet">Vicnet</a> offered low-cost access for organisations. Librarians taught users to find information online and build websites. However, the complex search systems struggled with exploding volumes of content and high numbers of new users.</p>
<p>In 1994, the book <a href="https://books.google.com.au/books/about/Managing_Gigabytes_Compressing_and_Index.html?id=q_9RAAAAMAAJ&source=kp_book_description&redir_esc=y">Managing Gigabytes</a>, penned by three New Zealand computer scientists, presented solutions for this problem. Since <a href="https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/6182576/">the 1950s</a> researchers had imagined a search engine that was fast, accessible to all, and which sorted documents by relevance.</p>
<p>In the 1990s, a Silicon Valley startup began to apply this knowledge – Larry Page and Sergey Brin used the principles in Managing Gigabytes to design Google’s iconic architecture.</p>
<p>After launching on September 4 1998, the Google revolution was in motion. People loved the simplicity of the search box, as well as a novel presentation of results that <a href="https://hughewilliams.com/2012/04/02/snippets-the-unsung-heroes-of-web-search/">summarised</a> how the retrieved pages matched the query.</p>
<p>In terms of functionality, Google Search was effective for a few reasons. It used the innovative approach of delivering results by counting web links in a page (a process called <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PageRank">PageRank</a>). But more importantly, its algorithm was very sophisticated; it not only matched search queries with the text within a page, but also with other text linking to that page (this was called <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anchor_text">anchor text</a>).</p>
<p>Google’s popularity quickly surpassed competitors such as <a href="https://theconversation.com/so-farewell-then-altavista-we-hardly-knew-ye-15740">AltaVista</a> and Yahoo Search. With more than 85% of the market share today, it remains the most popular search engine. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1249495303893536775"}"></div></p>
<p>As the web expanded, however, access costs were contested. </p>
<p>Although consumers now search Google for free, payment is required to download certain articles and books. Many consumers still rely on libraries – while libraries themselves struggle with the rising costs of purchasing material to provide to the public for free.</p>
<h2>What will the next 25 years bring?</h2>
<p>Google has expanded far beyond Search. Gmail, Google Drive, Google Calendar, Pixel devices and other services show Google’s reach is vast. </p>
<p>With the introduction of AI tools, including Google’s Bard and the recently announced <a href="https://www.techopedia.com/google-gemini-is-a-serious-threat-to-chatgpt-heres-why">Gemini</a> (a direct competitor to ChatGPT), Google is set to revolutionise search once again. </p>
<p>As Google continues to roll <a href="https://blog.google/products/search/generative-ai-search/">generative AI capabilities into Search</a>, it will become common to read a quick information summary at the top of the results page, rather than dig for information yourself. A key challenge will be ensuring people don’t become complacent to the point that they blindly trust the generated outputs. </p>
<p>Fact-checking against original sources will remain as important as ever. After all, we have seen generative AI tools such as ChatGPT make headlines due to “<a href="https://theconversation.com/ai-tools-are-generating-convincing-misinformation-engaging-with-them-means-being-on-high-alert-202062">hallucinations</a>” and misinformation.</p>
<p>If inaccurate or incomplete search summaries aren’t revised, or are further paraphrased and presented without source material, the misinformation problem will only get worse. </p>
<p>Moreover, even if AI tools revolutionise search, they may fail to revolutionise access. As the AI industry grows, we’re seeing a <a href="https://theconversation.com/everyones-having-a-field-day-with-chatgpt-but-nobody-knows-how-it-actually-works-196378">shift towards</a> content only being accessible for a fee, or through paid subscriptions.</p>
<p>The rise of AI provides an opportunity to revisit the tensions between public access and increasingly powerful commercial entities.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-hidden-cost-of-the-ai-boom-social-and-environmental-exploitation-208669">The hidden cost of the AI boom: social and environmental exploitation</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/212367/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mark Sanderson receives funding from the Australian Research Council.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Julian Thomas receives funding from the Australian Research Council. Google Australia has contributed funding to the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society, which he leads. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kieran Hegarty receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the Austrian Federal Ministry for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology through a Digital Humanism Junior Visiting Fellowship at the Institute for Human Sciences.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lisa M. Given receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. She is Editor-in-Chief of the Annual Review of Information Science and Technology.</span></em></p>It’s hard to remember life before Google, when the closest thing to it was your local librarian. Soon the search engine will be offering AI-based summaries in its search results.Mark Sanderson, Professor of Information Retrieval, RMIT UniversityJulian Thomas, Distinguished Professor of Media and Communications; Director, ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society, RMIT UniversityKieran Hegarty, Research Fellow (Automated Decision-Making Systems), RMIT UniversityLisa M. Given, Professor of Information Sciences & Director, Social Change Enabling Impact Platform, RMIT UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1805712022-04-10T20:08:16Z2022-04-10T20:08:16ZWhat’s next for the National Broadband Network? Labor and the Coalition’s plans compared<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/458064/original/file-20220414-26-6sshvz.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C510%2C4366%2C2552&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>For many Australians, the promise of cheap, reliable broadband remains a dream. So why is the National Broadband Network (NBN) still not delivering an outcome that was promised more than a decade ago when the NBN rollout commenced?</p>
<p>Let’s take a look at the current state of the NBN, and what the major political parties have announced in the lead up to the next federal election.</p>
<h2>What’s available on the NBN?</h2>
<p>The NBN uses a range of different technologies to connect users to the internet, depending on what area they’re in and what pre-existing network infrastructure is available there.</p>
<p>Of the 11.8 million premises able to be connected to the NBN, the approximate number of premises in each “technology footprint” is: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>2.5 million for Hybrid Fibre Coaxial. This is where older coaxial cables installed for broadband and television services have been adapted for use in the NBN network</p></li>
<li><p>4.7 million for Fibre to the Node/Basement (FTTN/B). This connection uses both copper and fibre optic wiring. The quality of the connection varies depending on the length of the copper cable, and the technology used to support the data transmission</p></li>
<li><p>1.4 million for Fibre to the Curb (FTTC). This connection has fibre optic wiring closer to premises, allows faster data transmission than FTTN and services relatively fewer households</p></li>
<li><p>1.1 million for Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) greenfields. This is a full fibre optic connection directly to the network from new premises. This provides reliable high-speed internet</p></li>
<li><p>1 million for FTTP brownfields. This is a full fibre optic connection directly to the network from existing premises. This also provides reliable high-speed internet</p></li>
<li><p>and 1.1 million for fixed wireless/satellite. This is where data is beamed to the premises over radio frequency signals. This connection is usually targeted to regional areas and isn’t always stable. </p></li>
</ul>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/nbn-upgrades-explained-how-will-they-make-internet-speeds-faster-and-will-the-regions-miss-out-146749">NBN upgrades explained: how will they make internet speeds faster? And will the regions miss out?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What have the major parties promised?</h2>
<p>On March 22, NBN Co announced further fibre upgrades would be rolled out as part of an ongoing A$4.5 billion upgrade plan.</p>
<p>By the end of 2023, up to eight million premises will become eligible to access the Home Ultrafast plan of between 500Mbps and 1Gbps. Currently, about 4.4 million NBN-connected premises can access this plan.</p>
<p>For the FTTP upgrade to occur, NBN Co has said eligible customers will need to place an order with a participating retail service provider for one of the three highest-speed tiers: 100, 250 or 1,000Mbps.</p>
<p>Of the 4.1 million premises that can be connected to the NBN with FTTN, the current government and NBN Co plan provides an upgrade from FTTN to FTTP for two million of these premises. </p>
<p>Labor’s <a href="https://www.alp.org.au/policies/fixing-the-nbn">plan</a> is to provide FTTP access to 3.5 million of these premises — and of the 1.5 million extra premises, 660,000 will be in regional Australia.</p>
<p>In response to the 2021 Regional Telecommunications Review, the Coalition announced a A$1.3 billion investment to further upgrade regional, rural and remote telecommunications. If it wins the election, it has promised to provide A$480 million to partly fund NBN Co’s upcoming A$750 million upgrade of the fixed wireless network, to support regional communities. </p>
<p>This upgrade will shift 120,000 premises from the NBN Skymuster satellite network — which currently provides NBN connections to remote premises — to a fixed wireless connection. This would provide up to 250Mbps service to 85% of the premises in the satellite network.</p>
<p>Removing 120,000 premises from the NBN Skymuster satellite network will also improve the overall performance of the service, offering faster connection speeds and a <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-03-22/750-million-regional-internet-cash-splash-federal-election/100928126">download capacity boost</a> from 55GB per month to 90GB per month.</p>
<p>Labor has also <a href="https://nff.org.au/media-release/nff-welcomes-labors-support-for-fixed-wireless-and-satellite-investment/">committed to supporting</a> the planned NBN fixed wireless upgrade, and made a further <a href="https://www.michellerowland.com.au/news/media-releases-communications/regional-australians-will-have-a-better-nbn-under-labor/">commitment</a> that “80% of the 7.1 million Australians living in regional and remote areas will have access to speeds of 100Mbps or more by late 2025. Currently this is only 33%”.</p>
<h2>Too little, too late?</h2>
<p>In the past, I’ve strongly criticised the Coalition’s decision at the 2013 federal election to move the NBN to a hybrid technology model that included obsolete technologies — namely FTTN, and to a lesser extent HFC and FTTC. The results of this decision are now measurable.</p>
<p>In 2013, the government said the hybrid technology model would mean the NBN could be completed for A$29 billion by 2019, and that Australian households would have a minimum of 25Mbps by the end of 2016.</p>
<p>The true cost of the NBN rollout has now exceeded <a href="https://www.michellerowland.com.au/news/media-releases-communications/media-release-nbn-will-now-cost-57-billion-department-admits-21-october-2020/">A$57 billion</a>, and will likely be about <a href="https://www.macrobusiness.com.au/2020/03/another-16b-needed-to-fix-nbn-debacle/">A$70 billion</a> by the time the FTTP upgrade is rolled out to some 93% of premises later this decade (hopefully).</p>
<p>But for now, the number of NBN-connected premises using FTTP remains stuck below 30%. And it’s difficult to see this figure rising quickly unless there is a rapid change in direction after the next federal election.</p>
<p>The costs of NBN plans remain high, and ultimately if consumers aren’t able to afford higher-speed tiers then the FTTP upgrade will likely not be taken up by the vast majority.</p>
<p>In the first half year financial report for 2022, NBN Co <a href="https://www.nbnco.com.au/corporate-information/about-nbn-co/corporate-plan/financial-reports">indicates</a> 76% of customers are now on a 50Mbps speed tier or higher. </p>
<p>NBN Co’s financial report states average revenue collected by per user is A$46 per month, and earning before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) was A$1.5 billion. Meanwhile, borrowings from banks increased to A$24.7 billion from $23.8 billion in the previous reporting period.</p>
<p>A lack of equitable and universal access to the internet is another important issue. One aspect of universal access is for the internet to be provided for free to people who can’t afford NBN plans.</p>
<p>In November last year, opposition leader Anthony Albanese <a href="https://anthonyalbanese.com.au/media-centre/labors-plan-boost-education-opportunities-for-30-000-families-no-internet">announced</a> an initiative to provide free NBN connection for one year to 30,000 families with children under 15 at home, who didn’t have internet. No other political party has a comparable plan.</p>
<h2>Streaming stress</h2>
<p>Another factor that affects the higher-speed tier uptake is the failure by government regulatory bodies to mandate a minimum definition and quality for streamed media, particularly television and movies.</p>
<p>In Australia, the majority of streamed media, such as television and movies, is provided in a very poor quality standard definition format. The very-high media compression used by the online streaming industry (such as Netflix, Stan and Amazon Prime Video) means high-definition and 4K programs are displayed in poor quality.</p>
<p>In Europe and other parts of the world, television is now broadcast and streamed primarily using <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DVB-T2">4K-enabled technologies</a>. Australians have been purchasing 4K-enabled televisions and other devices since 2017, but haven’t been able to fully use their capabilities.</p>
<h2>Final thoughts</h2>
<p>At this point, in the lead-up to the next federal election, Labor’s NBN policy is superior to that of the Coalition.</p>
<p>Under the current policies of both major political parties, the NBN will remain in government ownership. But this doesn’t mean it can’t be put up for private sale in the future, if existing policies change.</p>
<p>And the current government’s NBN policy does not alleviate the consequences of the mistakes it has made over the past nine years. The glacial pace at which the government and NBN Co are upgrading services means if the Coalition wins the next federal election, Australians can expect to have second-rate broadband for years to come.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-telcos-are-picking-up-where-the-nbn-is-failing-heres-what-it-means-for-you-133905">Coronavirus: telcos are picking up where the NBN is failing. Here's what it means for you</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/180571/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mark A Gregory does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>If the Coalition wins the election, Aussies can expect to continue to lag behind the rest of the world in terms of internet speeds and access.Mark A Gregory, Associate professor, RMIT UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1788942022-03-10T03:43:47Z2022-03-10T03:43:47ZIs Russia really about to cut itself off from the internet? And what can we expect if it does?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451186/original/file-20220310-25-9yguew.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=123%2C30%2C5040%2C3406&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The invasion of Ukraine has triggered a significant digital shift for Russia. Sanctions imposed by governments around the world – together with company closures or mothballing – have significantly impacted the country.</p>
<p>A plethora of events have escalated the invasion into the digital world, with cyber attacks, <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchsecurity/news/252513982/Conti-ransomware-gang-backs-Russia-threatens-US">cyber criminals taking sides</a>, and even an <a href="https://theconversation.com/ukraine-is-recruiting-an-it-army-of-cyber-warriors-heres-how-australia-could-make-it-legal-to-join-178414">IT army of civilians</a> being mobilised by Ukraine.</p>
<p>The sanctions imposed on Russia have not only directly hit its economy (and by extension the global economy), but are now also threatening Russian citizens’ access to the internet. </p>
<p>It’s expected the nation will limit its reliance on the global internet very soon. Although a complete <em>disconnection</em> isn’t yet confirmed, even a partial disconnection would be a difficult task. And the repercussions of Russia’s growing digital isolation for its citizens will be immense. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-power-of-tech-giants-has-made-them-as-influential-as-nations-heres-how-theyre-sanctioning-russia-178424">The power of tech giants has made them as influential as nations. Here's how they're sanctioning Russia</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Russia’s increasing digital isolation</h2>
<p>More than 85% of Russians use the <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/255129/internet-penetration-in-russia/">internet</a>. Since the Ukraine invasion began, people in Russia have found themselves increasingly deprived of online services such as Facebook, Twitter and even Netflix – with Russia either limiting access to sites, or providers withdrawing services.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/450924/original/file-20220309-4153-81eyim.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/450924/original/file-20220309-4153-81eyim.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/450924/original/file-20220309-4153-81eyim.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/450924/original/file-20220309-4153-81eyim.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/450924/original/file-20220309-4153-81eyim.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/450924/original/file-20220309-4153-81eyim.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/450924/original/file-20220309-4153-81eyim.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">There’s no Facebook in Russia right now.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Pixbay</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Major financial players have pulled out too, including <a href="https://www.techradar.com/au/news/apple-pay-and-google-pay-cut-off-some-russian-customers">Apple Pay</a>, Google Pay and most <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/visa-mastercard-russia-ukraine-invasion/">major credit card providers</a>, significantly impacting <a href="https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/2022/03/04/russia-ecommerce-slows-retail-industry-looks-to-help-ukraine/">e-commerce</a>.</p>
<p>Russia itself has also introduced a digital <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/03/04/russia-ukraine-internet-cogent-cutoff/">divide with the rest of the world</a>, despite the fact this may further cripple its economy. It is expected to start withdrawing from the global internet by <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/88gevb/russia-is-preparing-to-cut-itself-off-from-the-global-internet">March 11</a>, according to Kremlin documents. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1500649169454878724"}"></div></p>
<p>Russia has long-imposed control over state-run media, but tolerated a level of free access to content and services through the internet. While such freedoms have been progressively diminished, citizens have still been able to stay connected to the wider web.</p>
<p>This open access is now being revoked. Russia will assert dominance over internet services and impose <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/bbc-halts-reporting-russia-after-new-law-passes-2022-03-04/">strict censorship</a> on local media organisations in an attempt to control <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/russia-is-having-less-success-at-spreading-social-media-disinformation/">information</a> and reinforce Kremlin propaganda.</p>
<h2>The Kremlin’s orders</h2>
<p>As part of this plan, the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/07/technology/russia-ukraine-internet-isolation.html">Russian government</a> has directed businesses to move their web hosting and business services to Russian servers.</p>
<p>While it may be assumed a “.ru” website is located in Russia, this isn’t always the case. Large organisations will often host their services in remote regions’ servers. This may be to gain access to enhanced technologies, increase the resilience of the service, or to benefit from reduced service costs.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451187/original/file-20220310-20-zdtedu.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451187/original/file-20220310-20-zdtedu.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451187/original/file-20220310-20-zdtedu.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451187/original/file-20220310-20-zdtedu.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451187/original/file-20220310-20-zdtedu.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451187/original/file-20220310-20-zdtedu.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451187/original/file-20220310-20-zdtedu.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451187/original/file-20220310-20-zdtedu.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Among the Kremlin’s demands is a request for all foreign-hosted Russian services to be relocated to within Russia.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A good example would be a <a href="https://theconversation.com/fastly-global-internet-outage-why-did-so-many-sites-go-down-and-what-is-a-cdn-anyway-162371">content delivery network</a>, where content is hosted on multiple servers around the world. This ensures fast access for users and resilience to outages and malicious attacks.</p>
<p>Relocating an individual website to a new server is relatively easy, but doing this on a national scale is a huge logistical challenge. It’s unknown whether Russia even has the capacity and capability to deliver the required resources.</p>
<h2>Not the first attempt at disconnection</h2>
<p>With mounting pressure from the West, Russia may <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/china-russia-chief-strategic-partner-war-83292299">create its own version</a> of the “<a href="https://www.internationalaffairs.org.au/news-item/the-great-china-firewall/">great firewall of China</a>”. With this, the Chinese government implemented a number of measures allowing it to regulate and censor the domestic internet as it sees fit. </p>
<p>Although the current demands from the Kremlin relate to service availability – and migrating websites and services to Russian territories – this <em>could</em> be the first stage of a national disconnection from the global internet.</p>
<p>It’s worth noting, however, even if Russia adopts a domestic internet, it will still need to keep some bridges with the global internet to communicate with other countries.</p>
<p>In 2019, Russia tested <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-50902496">disconnecting the country from the internet</a>. There are few details relating to how long this test ran. </p>
<p>The test was reportedly successful, but not adopted. It could be the Kremlin stopped short of a full disconnection due to Russia’s reliance on global services, such as social media and financial gateways.</p>
<p>With Russia now becoming increasingly isolated from global networks, it’s potentially easier to implement network changes that would grant the Kremlin full control of Russia’s internet.</p>
<h2>The repercussions</h2>
<p>Disconnecting from the global internet and imposing censorship will inevitably slow down democratic progress in Russia. </p>
<p>It will also impact the country’s technological development. Russia is already facing significant <a href="https://www.protocol.com/newsletters/protocol-enterprise/russia-ukraine-chips-shields-up">chip shortages</a> and a loss of access to <a href="https://www.lightreading.com/5g/how-western-sanctions-will-hurt-russian-telecom-and-tech/d/d-id/775873">advanced telecommunication technologies</a>, including deliveries from Ericsson and Nokia.</p>
<p>Even if Russia successfully creates its own separate internet, this would be challenging for citizens to accept. </p>
<p>Until recently, Russian citizens have enjoyed the benefits of the global internet, and they will likely be concerned at its disappearance. The social impact would be incredibly difficult to manage. </p>
<p>And while virtual private networks have previously been used within Russia to maintain anonymity, or access censored sources, a properly implemented set of controls could effectively block the use of such techniques.</p>
<h2>Is the internet safer without Russia?</h2>
<p>Given the amount of cyber crime regularly <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/oct/11/russia-and-nearby-states-are-origin-of-most-ransomware-says-uk-cyber-chief">attributed to Russian sources</a>, you might imagine Russia’s withdrawal from the global internet would make it a more secure space for everyone else. </p>
<p>While isolating Russia will have an initial impact, cyber-criminal gangs and state-sponsored attacks will quickly return as perpetrators find ways to escape domestic controls. </p>
<p>In fact, state-sponsored attacks will likely increase in the coming months as Russia seeks retribution against the countries (and organisations) that imposed sanctions on Russia. </p>
<p>If cyber warfare reaches heightened levels, other nations will have to focus more on their defence capabilities to protect their infrastructure. We could see the digital economy reshape itself, as it tries to contend with increased Russian threats.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/as-russia-wages-cyber-war-against-ukraine-heres-how-australia-and-the-rest-of-the-world-could-suffer-collateral-damage-177909">As Russia wages cyber war against Ukraine, here's how Australia (and the rest of the world) could suffer collateral damage</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/178894/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The Kremlin is pushing for a quick migration of all Russian websites and services to be hosted within the country. It could be the first stage of a larger disconnection effort.Mohiuddin Ahmed, Lecturer of Computing & Security, Edith Cowan UniversityPaul Haskell-Dowland, Professor of Cyber Security Practice, Edith Cowan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1739772022-01-19T13:45:52Z2022-01-19T13:45:52ZState efforts to close the K-12 digital divide may come up short<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/439860/original/file-20220107-12389-11c5ir9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=42%2C8%2C5651%2C3782&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Students and teachers alike struggle with digital connectivity – but education is just one area in which technology matters.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/Biden-Broadband-Explainer/229742288a5a489fb47d8fbefc43ec08/photo">AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In 2021, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy announced that education officials in his state had “<a href="https://www.nj.gov/governor/news/news/562021/20210310c.shtml">closed</a>” the digital divide by ensuring that every public school student had a laptop or tablet and internet access. </p>
<p>“Closing the digital divide wasn’t just about <a href="https://nj.gov/governor/news/news/562021/approved/20210312b.shtml">meeting the challenges of remote learning</a>,” Murphy, a Democrat, said at the time. “It’s been about ensuring every student has the tools they need to excel in a 21st century educational environment.” </p>
<p>While the Murphy administration was successful in giving <a href="https://www.nj.gov/education/grants/digitaldivide/techsurveys.shtml">358,212 students</a> access to critical education tools they previously lacked, <a href="https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/household-pulse-survey.html">the digital divide remains a problem</a> in New Jersey as well as throughout the nation.</p>
<p><iframe id="ShvlH" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/ShvlH/1/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<h2>Federal data</h2>
<p>A U.S. Census Bureau survey <a href="https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/household-pulse-survey.html">undertaken during the pandemic</a> found that not all families with school-age kids had internet access or computers. The levels varied by race and family income.</p>
<p>For instance, whereas 84% of Asian families said they always had a computer on hand for educational uses, only 72% of Hispanic or Latino families did.</p>
<p>And 87% of Asian families said they always had internet access available for school-related activities. But just 68% of families that were biracial, multiracial or in a group labeled “other races” – meaning not white, not Black, not Asian and not Hispanic or Latino – said the same.</p>
<p>Families with higher incomes were more likely to have both internet access and digital devices always available for education. But even the highest-income households didn’t have 100% availability of either. And only about two-thirds of families with incomes below $35,000 did.</p>
<p><iframe id="afkLb" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/afkLb/1/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<h2>State and local efforts</h2>
<p>Different communities took different approaches to handling the digital divide before and during the pandemic. A <a href="https://www.nga.org/news/commentary/governors-prioritize-expanding-internet-access-for-k-12-students/">National Governors Association review</a> showed that some education leaders sought to address the immediate needs of students, such as access to computers at home, while others explored long-term broadband solutions. </p>
<p>Some states partnered with <a href="https://www.allconnect.com/blog/organizations-addressing-the-digital-divide">internet service providers or nonprofit organizations</a> with a specific focus on digital access or inclusion, or other organizations with broader missions, such as local libraries. </p>
<p>In <a href="https://www.inquirer.com/opinion/commentary/progress-closing-digital-divide-20211229.html">Philadelphia</a>, the city worked with the school district, foundations and local cable providers to make sure all public school students have access to <a href="https://www.phila.gov/programs/phlconnected/">free and reliable internet at home</a>. Chicago did <a href="https://www.cps.edu/strategic-initiatives/chicago-connected/">something similar</a>.</p>
<p>In October 2021, New York City announced an initiative to build a <a href="https://www1.nyc.gov/office-of-the-mayor/news/724-21/new-york-city-close-digital-divide-1-6-million-residents-advance-racial-equity">publicly owned, open-access broadband system</a> to provide affordable internet access across the city.</p>
<p>Partnerships like this have resulted in the delivery of mobile hot spots, <a href="https://www.nj.com/education/2020/09/organizations-donate-1200-hotspots-to-trenton-public-schools-to-close-digital-divide.html">free internet subscriptions</a> and digital literacy courses. Other local efforts, including from municipal governments and nonprofit organizations, sought to improve public Wi-Fi service and get computers or tablets to people who needed them.</p>
<h2>A lasting problem</h2>
<p>A 2021 report from New America and Rutgers University shows that, while internet access has greatly increased since 2015, <a href="https://www.newamerica.org/education-policy/reports/learning-at-home-while-underconnected/">1 in 7 children</a> still do not have high-speed internet access at home.</p>
<p>One reason for this may be the focus on temporary solutions to deeper social issues. A device and hot spot issued for one year does not permanently address problems as complex as the digital divide.</p>
<p>Another factor may be the ability to identify those in need. New Jersey’s survey didn’t ask families about their devices and connectivity. Instead, state officials asked local school districts and <a href="https://www.nj.gov/education/grants/digitaldivide/techsurveys.shtml">took their word without double-checking their reported results</a>.</p>
<p>At the federal level, similar attempts to measure the digital divide have also come up short, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/04/technology/digital-divide-us-fcc-microsoft.html">overestimating the numbers of people</a> who have a computer and internet service. The Federal Communications Commission has also <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/04/technology/digital-divide-us-fcc-microsoft.html">overstated the degree to which high-speed service</a> is available to internet customers.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/439862/original/file-20220107-13-yh420e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="People stand outside a school bus in a rural area" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/439862/original/file-20220107-13-yh420e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/439862/original/file-20220107-13-yh420e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/439862/original/file-20220107-13-yh420e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/439862/original/file-20220107-13-yh420e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/439862/original/file-20220107-13-yh420e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/439862/original/file-20220107-13-yh420e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/439862/original/file-20220107-13-yh420e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Many rural students don’t have any internet service available, and many urban students’ families can’t afford it.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/EducationNavajoInternet/526fc11fe7ac4eb4b8b4b78a6a0e39fb/photo">AP Photo/Cedar Attanasio</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Federal funding</h2>
<p>The federal <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/3684/text">infrastructure package</a> seeks to tackle the digital divide more directly than ever before in the U.S. The law’s text says high-speed internet access is as essential as running water and electricity to “<a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/3684">full participation in modern life in the United States</a>.” The package included <a href="https://nebsa.org/index.cfm/nebsa-spotlight/digital-divide-needs-to-receive-record-2-75-billion-in-grants/">US$2.75 billion</a> to fund an effort to improve online accessibility for social services.</p>
<p>Whether the equitable delivery of digital access is achieved will depend on implementation. Studies of national broadband efforts in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8500.12323">Australia</a> and <a href="https://www.thehinducentre.com/the-arena/current-issues/article32444675.ece">India</a> show it isn’t always easy. They also find that the programs don’t make up for existing social inequities. For instance, in Australia, poorer communities got worse internet service than wealthier places. In the U.S., past broadband initiatives <a href="https://www.commoncause.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/CCBroadbandGatekeepers_WEB1.pdf">have not provided equitable service</a>.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/3684/text">infrastructure law</a> has the potential to ensure that digital access becomes a higher government priority. But experience shows fully closing the digital divide will require much more.</p>
<p><em>Jessica Cruz, a Rutgers master’s student in public informatics, contributed to this article.</em></p>
<p>[<em>Like what you’ve read? Want more?</em> <a href="https://memberservices.theconversation.com/newsletters/?source=inline-likethis">Sign up for The Conversation’s daily newsletter</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/173977/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stephanie Holcomb is a researcher with organizations that receive funding from the State of New Jersey, federal agencies, and several foundations including the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrea Hetling receives funding from the US Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the New Jersey Office of the Secretary of Higher Education, and the New Jersey Department of Human Services Division of Family Development. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gregory Porumbescu receives funding from the New Jersey Office of the Secretary of Higher Education and the National Science Foundation. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Vishal Trehan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Claims the digital divide has been ‘closed’ don’t include the full picture of internet inequality in the United States.Stephanie Holcomb, Ph.D. Student in Planning and Public Policy, Rutgers UniversityAndrea Hetling, Professor of Planning and Public Policy, Rutgers UniversityGregory Porumbescu, Associate Professor at the School of Public Affairs and Administration, Rutgers University - NewarkVishal Trehan, Ph.D. Student in Public Affairs and Administration, Rutgers University - NewarkLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1732112022-01-03T15:58:38Z2022-01-03T15:58:38ZInvesting in technologies for student learning: 4 principles school boards and parents should consider<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/436778/original/file-20211209-172173-1qn0ho5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C312%2C4745%2C3061&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The pandemic fuelled the market for educational technology providers to market hardware and software to Canadian school boards.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Technology, in its many forms, has been present in the classroom <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177%2F2042753015579978">since the introduction of the blackboard</a>, followed decades later by the overhead projector. Now, in our digital age, classroom environments can always be connected to the internet, and educators need to make choices about both hardware and software.</p>
<p>The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for students to be digitally fluent and have adequate access to devices and broadband internet at school and at home.
<a href="https://theconversation.com/tax-pandemic-profiteering-by-tech-companies-to-help-fund-public-education-155705">The pandemic certainly fuelled the market for educational technology</a> providers to market their hardware and software to Canadian school boards. </p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="An adult shows a child a device." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/438578/original/file-20211220-23072-f8ukgl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/438578/original/file-20211220-23072-f8ukgl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=528&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/438578/original/file-20211220-23072-f8ukgl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=528&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/438578/original/file-20211220-23072-f8ukgl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=528&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/438578/original/file-20211220-23072-f8ukgl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=663&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/438578/original/file-20211220-23072-f8ukgl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=663&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/438578/original/file-20211220-23072-f8ukgl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=663&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">How school boards allocate funds for technology matters to students’ educations.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(UKBlack Tech)</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Schools make <a href="https://torontosun.com/opinion/columnists/lilley-schools-spend-big-on-tech-that-doesnt-help">considerable financial investments each year in technology</a>. Each contract has its own terms and conditions which must be accepted for teachers and students to use the devices or services. My research focuses on how educational technologies make their way into classrooms, and the decision-making processes school boards use to select and implement technologies. </p>
<p>For the sake of quality education, student safety and well-being it’s important that school administrators and parents or guardians are in dialogue about basic frameworks and guiding principles related to <a href="https://edtechevidence.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/1.-FINAL-EdTechGenomeProject-FinalReport_July2021-2.pdf">selecting technology</a> for schools. Many of these principles about technology and learning are also applicable for parents who may be considering purchasing technology at home for student learning.</p>
<p>Here, I propose four considerations when selecting technology to support teaching and learning.</p>
<h2>1. Why technology?</h2>
<p>Consumers experience relentless pressures to purchase. Commercial and marketing events like <a href="https://theconversation.com/dark-side-of-black-friday-the-major-drawbacks-with-this-shopping-bonanza-171713">Black Friday</a> <a href="https://www.techradar.com/cyber-monday/cyber-monday-deals-2021">and Cyber Monday</a> contribute to creating an appeal for new hardware. Thoroughly considering why technology should be chosen and how it integrates with learning can help decision-makers choose which technology is most valuable or crucial to teaching and learning. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.edutopia.org/article/powerful-model-understanding-good-tech-integration">One model</a> that can help these decisions is developed by education and technology researcher Ruben Puentedura. His <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/26899092">SAMR Model</a> stands for substitution (Does the technology act as a direct substitute?); augmentation (Does it augment existing learning?); modification (Does it modify existing learning?) or redefinition (Does it redefine what happens in classrooms?).</p>
<p>For example, collaboratively working on a cloud-based document in groups that are in different locations could not be done without technology. This example shows modification or redefinition as it shifts how students collaborate. </p>
<p>Identifying if the technology is critical to the learning and how exactly it fits is a good first step in determining if there is a need for it. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A teacher is seen in a classroom on a videoconference." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/438573/original/file-20211220-25-jlgeok.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/438573/original/file-20211220-25-jlgeok.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/438573/original/file-20211220-25-jlgeok.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/438573/original/file-20211220-25-jlgeok.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/438573/original/file-20211220-25-jlgeok.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/438573/original/file-20211220-25-jlgeok.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/438573/original/file-20211220-25-jlgeok.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">It’s important to ask how a technology augments, changes or redefines forms of learning.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Alliance for Excellent Education/Flickr)</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>2. Compatibility</h2>
<p>A vast variety of hardware devices run different operating systems. There are also many different software options. These factors, together, increase the potential of incompatibility. </p>
<p>When selecting hardware, one crucial decision is choosing between a hand-held or portable device, such as a tablet or a laptop computer. It’s important to note that tablets and laptops use different operating systems. Not all pieces of software will work equally well on all devices.</p>
<p>In efforts to overcome this potential incompatibly, many tools are now browser based. For example, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2020.103985">web and video math tutorial systems</a> can be accessed via a web browser rather than downloaded and installed on a device, reducing their dependence on certain types of hardware. This can increase their compatibility but there may still be limitations on some platforms. </p>
<p>Knowing which software and tools educators plan to use use, and investigating their requirements, can help when choosing devices. </p>
<p>Another compatibility factor to consider is the integration with the school’s existing technology infrastructure. For example, a Chromebook running Chrome OS is heavily reliant on the Google Apps ecosystem. It wouldn’t be well-suited to an environment that is already using Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Teams for the collaborative environment.</p>
<p>Likewise, a school board which is using the <a href="https://edu.google.com/products/workspace-for-education/">Google Workspace for Education</a> (formerly G Suite for Education) will benefit from devices and software designed to work in the Google ecosystem, which include options like signing in with your Google account. </p>
<h2>3. Access</h2>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="A child's hands on a keyboard." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/438579/original/file-20211220-48178-7784ry.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/438579/original/file-20211220-48178-7784ry.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=490&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/438579/original/file-20211220-48178-7784ry.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=490&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/438579/original/file-20211220-48178-7784ry.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=490&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/438579/original/file-20211220-48178-7784ry.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=616&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/438579/original/file-20211220-48178-7784ry.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=616&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/438579/original/file-20211220-48178-7784ry.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=616&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In the classroom, logging in can be time consuming.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Nenad Stojkovic/Flickr)</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>There are many factors to consider with access. A key one is how people can log in and connect to services and networks whether at school or at home: Will the learners have to create accounts to access a tool that is being used? Can they access the tool using their existing school credentials? </p>
<p>In the classroom, logging in to a tool can be time consuming, especially for younger students. At home, if the student doesn’t know their username or password for a particular tool, this becomes a barrier. </p>
<p>Tools that don’t require users to log in are potentially easier to use and more accessible. But they are much less useful for teachers for tracking individual progress and assessment. </p>
<p>Tools that require credentials to be accessed should ideally use a single set of credentials or <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchsecurity/definition/single-sign-on">single sign on</a> process. </p>
<p>Not having access to a physical device and broadband internet are also potential impediments. Some school boards have tried to equalize access by <a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2021/11/08/new-tech-attempts-to-level-playing-field-for-student-success-in-sd8.html">providing devices to all students</a>. This can help in the schools but it doesn’t overcome the <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/covid-19-highlights-urban-rural-digital-divide-1.5734167">inequitable access to broadband internet across Canadian communities</a>.</p>
<h2>4. Data privacy and security</h2>
<p>Mitigating all potential vulnerabilities and data breaches should certainly be a leading factor for school board administrators. As with all things digital, there are <a href="https://doi.org/10.5210/fm.v24i11.10094">concerns over privacy</a>, ownership of and access to data. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/childrens-privacy-is-at-risk-with-rapid-shifts-to-online-schooling-under-coronavirus-135787">Children's privacy is at risk with rapid shifts to online schooling under coronavirus</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Studies suggest that <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2020/01/28/not-reading-the-small-print-is-privacy-policy-fail/4565274002/">very few of us read the terms and conditions</a> that come with new software or platforms. However, when it comes to consenting for minors and entering minors into relationships with software companies, a more critical eye is required. </p>
<p>It is important to be aware of <a href="https://theconversation.com/classdojo-raises-concerns-about-childrens-rights-111033">who has access to the information learners create</a> and to have a clear understanding of who the students can communicate with and how. Always check if there are any moderation or filtering settings available.
Students shouldn’t be using platforms for education that allow uninhibited communication with other users outside of their classes or schools. </p>
<p>While there are many factors that can influence how educators decide what technology to implement for students, these four key considerations are a place to begin.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/173211/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lucas Johnson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Technology has infiltrated education, but how do we choose what is best for teaching and learning?Lucas Johnson, PhD Student, Faculty of Education, Lakehead UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1721312021-12-02T19:51:55Z2021-12-02T19:51:55ZIs your state ready to handle the influx of federal funds for expanding broadband?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/435147/original/file-20211201-25-14aoicm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C3948%2C2628&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Expanding access to broadband internet in rural communities has long been a challenge.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/InfrastructureDeal-Broadband-Explainer/d40eaeeef96f4384939ad8e7774c0850/photo">AP Photo/Charles Krupa</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The federal government is pouring billions of dollars into expanding broadband internet access. But it’s at the state level where the financial rubber meets the fiber-optic road. History suggests some states are ahead of the game while others will have to play catch-up.</p>
<p>The recently signed Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act includes significant funding to <a href="https://www.benton.org/blog/largest-us-investment-broadband-deployment-ever">expand broadband access</a>, to help households <a href="https://www.naco.org/blog/fcc-opens-comment-period-affordable-connectivity-program-established-under-iija">pay for their monthly broadband connections</a> and to help people learn how to <a href="https://www.benton.org/blog/largest-us-investment-broadband-adoption-ever">productively use those connections</a>. This legislation represents Congress’ first <a href="https://theconversation.com/infrastructure-law-high-speed-internet-is-as-essential-as-water-and-electricity-171782">formal recognition of the essential nature</a> of high-speed internet. </p>
<p>Historically, broadband funding has been distributed from federal entities like the <a href="https://www.fcc.gov/document/fcc-announces-over-311-million-broadband-acts-clean-rdof">Federal Communications Commission</a> or <a href="https://www.usda.gov/media/press-releases/2021/08/11/usda-invests-167-million-high-speed-broadband-12-states">U.S. Department of Agriculture</a> directly to internet providers. The Government Accountability Office, which monitors and audits government operations, <a href="https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-20-535">has been critical of these efforts</a>. </p>
<p>This time, however, states are <a href="https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/about/news-room/opinion/2021/11/17/broadband-and-the-states-the-critical-role-of-partnerships">at the center of the funding</a> that is coming down the pipeline. The US$42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program, known as BEAD, requires each state to generate a five-year action plan laying out how it will use the funds, including a process for prioritizing locations that are classified as “unserved” or “underserved.” </p>
<p>Similarly, the $2.7 billion <a href="https://www.govtech.com/network/infrastructure-bill-promises-historic-boost-for-digital-equity">Digital Equity Act</a> requires each state to establish an organization responsible for developing a digital equity plan, which will help to disburse subgrants. <a href="https://www.govtech.com/civic/the-quest-for-digital-equity.html">Digital equity</a> means ensuring that every community has adequate access to the technologies and skills needed to fully participate in society.</p>
<h2>From newbies to wily veterans</h2>
<p>Not all states are equally positioned to handle the funds that will flow down from the federal government. <a href="https://www.oregon.gov/biz/programs/Oregon_Broadband_Office/Pages/default.aspx">Some states</a> have operated <a href="https://psc.wi.gov/Pages/Programs/WBO.aspx">formal broadband offices</a> for years, and many have extensive experience running their own broadband grant programs. In others there are multiple agencies with jurisdiction over broadband, so even deciding who will develop the action plan may be challenging. </p>
<p><iframe id="3yms8" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/3yms8/1/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>Some states have built detailed broadband maps that move beyond the <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2021/11/29/fcc-broadband-maps-biden-523425">highly criticized FCC versions</a>, and <a href="https://broadband.georgia.gov/maps">clearly depict areas</a> without access. Others were early adopters of “digital inclusion” efforts and have an established base of <a href="https://byteback.org/">nonprofits</a> and <a href="https://partners.utah.edu/digital-navigators-connecting-community/">public entities</a> that have already been successful at this type of work. </p>
<p>In short, states have varying track records when it comes to broadband projects. Rolling out billions of dollars of funding will be a challenge for states without a history of evaluating applications – or those that are brand-new to the quickly growing field of digital equity.</p>
<h2>Why each state gets $100 million</h2>
<p>The largest portion of the forthcoming broadband funding is the BEAD program focused on the provision of new broadband infrastructure. Each state will be awarded an initial amount of $100 million, with the remainder of the $42.5 billion allocated based on the percentage of unserved locations across states. The states are then responsible for disbursing these funds as subgrants. Unserved locations <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.telpol.2021.102281">can include agricultural and business sites</a>, not just households.</p>
<p>So, while it might seem unfair that Vermont, with fewer than <a href="https://www.fcc.gov/reports-research/reports/broadband-progress-reports/fourteenth-broadband-deployment-report">50,000 people classified as unserved</a>, receives the same initial allocation as Texas, with over 1.2 million people unserved, this investment is less than 15% of the total BEAD funding. The $100 million should also provide an incentive for states to establish their five-year action plans and to set up offices capable of awarding grants within their borders.</p>
<p>The task of setting up a process to handle grant applications and assess which ones should be funded is not trivial. <a href="https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/fact-sheets/2021/05/3-key-components-define-effective-state-broadband-programs">Recent research</a> has defined a competitive grant program as a key component of state broadband policy, including the establishment of evaluation criteria. </p>
<p>States with existing <a href="https://broadband.colorado.gov/">broadband offices</a> and <a href="https://www2.illinois.gov/dceo/ConnectIllinois/Pages/default.aspx">grant programs</a> will be well positioned to hit the ground running. States that to date don’t have broadband offices are Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont and Wyoming. The District of Columbia also does not have a broadband office. These governments will need to put considerable time and effort into establishing ground rules and recruiting and educating employees to handle the grant evaluation process. </p>
<p><iframe id="uqgLu" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/uqgLu/2/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>The law also adds several points related to grant awards that will be new for most states, regardless of how long their broadband office has been in place. One prevents states from excluding cooperatives, local governments, nonprofits and public utilities when considering who is eligible for the broadband funds. </p>
<p>The second requires grant awardees to establish a low-cost service option, leaving the definition of “low-cost” up to the state. Similar state-level efforts have <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2021/6/11/22530128/new-york-affordable-internet-15-injunction">not fared well</a> in the past, and there is likely to be opposition from awardees about price and eligibility. </p>
<h2>Digital equity</h2>
<p>While federal programs to address broadband infrastructure <a href="https://sgp.fas.org/crs/misc/R46613.pdf">have been around for a while</a>, the focus on digital equity is new. Here, again, some states are at an advantage. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.cetfund.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/006_CETF_2017decadeAR_LP10_forweb.pdf">California</a> has had a program emphasizing digital literacy, accessibility and broadband adoption, with grant programs in each, for over 10 years. <a href="http://digitalequitycenter.org/our-strategies/">Maine</a> and <a href="https://www.digitalinclusion.org/blog/2021/07/06/north-carolina-launches-countrys-first-office-of-digital-equity-and-literacy/">North Carolina</a> were also early to set up digital inclusion efforts, and <a href="https://wastatecommerce.medium.com/digital-equity-moonshot-state-launches-new-office-of-digital-equity-to-help-all-washington-7b4b6fcc51a5">Washington</a> dedicated $7.5 million in state funding before the passage of the infrastructure act. </p>
<p>Most other states are newcomers to the topic, although <a href="https://www.digitalinclusion.org/defining-a-state-digital-equity-office/">there are resources</a> to help them get started. </p>
<h2>State policies – and experience – matter</h2>
<p>A <a href="https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/fact-sheets/2021/05/3-key-components-define-effective-state-broadband-programs">growing body of evidence</a> suggests that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.telpol.2020.102025">state-level broadband policies matter</a>. Case studies of successful state programs show a range of <a href="https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/reports/2020/02/how-states-are-expanding-broadband-access">promising practices</a>, including stakeholder engagement and program evaluation. </p>
<p>[<em>Get the best of The Conversation, every weekend.</em> <a href="https://memberservices.theconversation.com/newsletters/?source=inline-weeklybest">Sign up for our weekly newsletter</a>.]</p>
<p>The pending broadband funds will build on many of these practices – for states that had the foresight to have them up and running. Other states will be at a disadvantage from the outset. We believe that these differences are likely to play an important role in the success of the overall program.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/172131/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Brian Whitacre receives funding from USDA Rural Utilities Service, USDA Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Regional Rural Development Centers, Association of Public Land-Grant Universities, Nebraska College of Law, Institute of Museum and Library Services, Health Research Services Administration, and the National Science Foundation. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Christina Biedny receives funding from the Nebraska College of Law. </span></em></p>States have widely different track records on expanding broadband internet access. Here are the ones that could struggle to handle the federal funds coming their way.Brian Whitacre, Professor and Neustadt Chair, Department of Agricultural Economics, Oklahoma State UniversityChristina Biedny, Ph.D. student in Agricultural Economics, Oklahoma State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1700682021-11-22T13:29:30Z2021-11-22T13:29:30ZInfrastructure law’s digital equity goals are key to smart cities that work for everyone<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/432928/original/file-20211119-22767-1hz4wyx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C23%2C7951%2C5273&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Smart cities promise a shining future, but without deliberate efforts to include underserved communities they can worsen the digital divide.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/future-cities-big-data-royalty-free-image/1180195416">shunli zhao/Moment via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/infrastructure-law-high-speed-internet-is-as-essential-as-water-and-electricity-171782">Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act</a> signed into law by President Joe Biden on Nov. 15, 2021, differs from past infrastructure investments not only in its size but also its emphasis on <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/03/31/fact-sheet-the-american-jobs-plan/">addressing long-standing and persistent racial injustice</a>. This major investment comes at a time when smart-city initiatives, which aim to use technology to make cities more responsive to their residents’ needs, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0042098020975982">are growing more common</a> around the world. </p>
<p>Smart cities are made possible by high-speed internet connections. They rely on big data, algorithms and the internet of things to better serve their increasingly diverse communities. For example, smart cities might use data collected from wireless sensors to predict the number of buses that need to be in circulation at a given time of day to reduce wait times. </p>
<p>The hope is that expanding the use of technology will allow smart cities to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1109/HICSS.2012.615">adapt services in real time</a> to the changing needs and preferences of residents. However, spotty broadband access in many communities in the U.S. has led to concerns that reform efforts that focus on technology, such as smart-city initiatives, <a href="https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/reducing-inequality-in-tech-driven-urban-planning-by-homi-kharas-and-jaana-remes-2018-06">could reinforce existing social inequality</a>. </p>
<p>As a researcher who <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=Uhk-JAcAAAAJ&view_op=list_works">studies public-sector technology and policy</a>, I believe this makes expanding broadband access in underserved communities a critical piece of the new infrastructure act and an important step toward realizing President Biden’s goal of using this infrastructure legislation to advance social equity. There are two reasons for this.</p>
<h2>Broadband at broadband speeds</h2>
<p>The first is that the digital infrastructure that makes widespread data collection and analysis possible, such as broadband internet, tends to underperform in less affluent communities. For example, a 2019 study by Microsoft shows that <a href="https://gizmodo.com/microsoft-claims-nearly-half-of-americans-dont-use-inte-1833911049">162.8 million people in the U.S.</a> were unable to access internet at broadband speeds.</p>
<p>A contrasting statistic from the FCC estimated <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/04/technology/digital-divide-us-fcc-microsoft.html">considerably fewer Americans</a> were dealing with slow internet connections over that same period. But their number focused on access to broadband connections, as opposed to access to internet connections that actually perform at high broadband speeds.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/432931/original/file-20211119-19-jqkz07.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A white-haired man in a dark business suit gestures with both hands in front of a blueprint-style poster with line drawings of power line towers and a high-speed train" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/432931/original/file-20211119-19-jqkz07.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/432931/original/file-20211119-19-jqkz07.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/432931/original/file-20211119-19-jqkz07.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/432931/original/file-20211119-19-jqkz07.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/432931/original/file-20211119-19-jqkz07.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/432931/original/file-20211119-19-jqkz07.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/432931/original/file-20211119-19-jqkz07.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The broadband components of the infrastructure act signed into law by President Joe Biden on Nov. 15, 2021, explicitly address racial inequalities in access to high-speed internet service.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/president-joe-biden-participates-in-a-virtual-meeting-on-news-photo/1333633935">Alex Wong/Getty Images News</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Expanding access to high-speed internet in underserved communities will help ensure that the data used to inform smart public service delivery does a better job in describing the needs and preferences of a more inclusive cross section of residents and service users, and not just inhabitants of wealthy areas. To this end, bringing these communities true high-speed internet will prevent them from being excluded from the processes that inform public service delivery.</p>
<h2>Balancing act</h2>
<p>A second reason expanding access to high-speed internet will promote equity in smart cities relates to the fact that smart cities rely on systems of interrelated services that run simultaneously. Take, as an example, public transportation, air pollution control and public health. Changes in traffic patterns need to be balanced with air pollution goals, which in turn need to take into account public health performance metrics. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, city governments frequently struggle with coordinating services, and when they do, <a href="https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7501688">service conflicts can occur</a>. For example, interventions to temporarily improve traffic flow in one area can increase levels of air pollution beyond an acceptable level in another area, thus improving service for some and worsening it for others. In the context of smart cities, efforts to coordinate services require the availability of high-speed internet connections and a network of sensors.</p>
<p>However, the availability of broadband internet connections that perform at high speed is <a href="https://annenberg.usc.edu/sites/default/files/2021/06/21/GIQ%202021.pdf">especially limited in minority communities</a>. The upshot of this disparity is that communities of color are more likely to bear the brunt of service conflicts. For example, air-quality sensors may be sparse in communities of color given the dearth of high-speed internet, making it difficult to know when efforts to reroute traffic causes air pollution levels to exceed acceptable levels. Expanding access to broadband internet is an important step toward preventing this kind of side effect. </p>
<h2>From broadband to broad participation</h2>
<p>Smart cities and governments’ growing reliance on technology promise to improve government performance, but they can also reinforce existing patterns of inequality. With a massive amount of infrastructure spending on the horizon, the Biden administration has the potential to root out important sources of systemic inequality, particularly by expanding access to broadband connections that perform at high speed <a href="https://www.govtech.com/network/infrastructure-bill-promises-historic-boost-for-digital-equity">in underserved communities</a>. </p>
<p>[<em>Get the best of The Conversation, every weekend.</em> <a href="https://memberservices.theconversation.com/newsletters/?source=inline-weeklybest">Sign up for our weekly newsletter</a>.]</p>
<p>That said, broadband on its own won’t be enough. Truly addressing systemic inequity will require governments to create meaningful opportunities for the diverse communities they serve to participate in the process.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/170068/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gregory Porumbescu receives funding from the National Science Foundation and the Office of the Secretary of Higher Education for the State of New Jersey.. </span></em></p>Smart cities’ focus on technology has made the digital divide worse, not better. The new infrastructure law could change that.Gregory Porumbescu, Assistant Professor at the School of Public Affairs and Administration, Rutgers University - NewarkLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1713232021-11-10T12:03:19Z2021-11-10T12:03:19ZNigeria’s digital currency: what the eNaira is for and why it’s not perfect<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/431005/original/file-20211109-13-1vb6fjd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">There is a need to educate Nigerians on the difference between the digital representation of cash deposits in bank accounts and the eNaira in digital wallets.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/this-picture-taken-on-january-29-2016-in-lagos-shows-1000-news-photo/507489832?adppopup=true">Pius Utomi Ekpei/AFP via Getty Images </a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>Nigeria <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2021/10/25/nigeria-becomes-first-african-nation-to-roll-out-digital-money">recently</a> became the first African country to introduce a digital currency. It joins the Bahamas and the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank in being among the first jurisdictions in the world to roll out national digital currencies. The Conversation Africa’s Wale Fatade asks Iwa Salami what a digital currency is and whether Nigeria can achieve its aims of introducing the currency.</em> </p>
<h2>What is a digital currency and how does it work?</h2>
<p>A digital currency is a means of payment or money that <a href="https://www.forbes.com/advisor/investing/digital-currency/">exists</a> in a purely electronic form. Central bank digital currencies are issued and regulated by the nation’s monetary authority, or central bank, and backed by the government. They are different from existing <a href="https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/research/digital-currencies">electronic central bank money</a>, which is provided by central banks but can only be used by banks and selected financial institutions. When financial institutions pay each other, they pay in reserves from accounts held with a central bank. </p>
<p>Before central bank digital currencies, the only way consumers could use money that is a direct liability of a central bank was with physical cash. Existing digital retail payment from customer deposits accounts in banks are based on money that is the liability of the institution providing the account, not a central bank. A central bank digital currency is a direct liability on the central bank and is available to all households and businesses giving them access to electronic central bank money.</p>
<p>It can be transferred or exchanged using technologies such as blockchain. <a href="https://www.euromoney.com/learning/blockchain-explained/what-is-blockchain">Blockchain</a> is a system of storing records of transactions across a network of computers.</p>
<p>Nigeria’s digital currency will be the digital form of the Naira and will be used just like cash. </p>
<p>A central bank digital currency is not a cryptocurrency. Cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, are not currencies in most countries since they are not a generally accepted form of payment. Although they are still widely referred to as cryptocurrencies, they are best described as digital assets, or crypto-assets.</p>
<p>The Bahamas, Saint Lucia, Grenada, Antigua and Barbuda are among the <a href="https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/cbdctracker/">seven countries</a> that have launched central bank digital currencies. </p>
<h2>Why has Nigeria launched a digital currency?</h2>
<p>The Central Bank has given <a href="https://www.enaira.gov.ng/download/eNaira_Design_Paper.pdf">several reasons</a> for launching the eNaira. It is to: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>promote and facilitate financial inclusion </p></li>
<li><p>enable direct welfare disbursements to citizens </p></li>
<li><p>facilitate diaspora remittances </p></li>
<li><p>reduce the cost of processing cash </p></li>
<li><p>improve the availability and usability of Central Bank money </p></li>
<li><p>increase revenue and tax collection </p></li>
<li><p>support a resilient payment system</p></li>
<li><p>improve the efficiency of cross-border payments.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>The introduction of the eNaira will enable peer-to-peer payments, cutting out ‘middle men’ or the use of intermediaries, such as financial institutions. </p>
<h2>What are the risks and how can they be mitigated?</h2>
<p>One is its potential to disrupt existing banking systems. This could occur if citizens decide to hold digital currency instead of keeping their physical Naira in a bank account. This would mean that banks would not have money to grant loans and other financial products. It could result in banks raising their interest rates as an incentive for customers to keep deposits within the banks. But then interest charged on loans would also go up to cover interest on savings.</p>
<p>However, since the eNaira is non-interest bearing and the Central Bank can place transaction and balance limits on certain eNaira wallets, this risk is minimised.</p>
<p>The second risk is operational. For example, if IT systems were to fail or if there were technological glitches, or cyber-attacks. These can compromise user privacy. The Central Bank will need robust technology and IT security systems. </p>
<p>Closely linked is reputational risk to the Central Bank if the operational risks materialise. They are likely to have a huge impact on its credibility and reputation both domestically and globally.</p>
<p>When the Central Bank takes on this new function – issuing the eNaira and maintaining a central ledger of all transactions – it might find it harder to perform its key function of ensuring a safe and sound financial system since its focus could be diverted towards managing the eNaira system in addition to carrying out <a href="https://www.cbn.gov.ng/aboutcbn/Coremandate.asp">its other functions</a> in the domestic economy. </p>
<p>A possible way to lighten this burden is through creating synthetic central bank digital currencies. This idea was put forward in 2019 in an <a href="https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2019/05/13/sp051419-stablecoins-central-bank-digital-currencies-and-cross-border-payments">International Monetary Fund paper</a>. In such a system, the central bank does not directly manage the system, but outsources tasks to private institutions. Financial institutions issue the digital currency, which is fully backed by central bank money.</p>
<p>Closely linked is the risk of the system being used to launder money and finance terrorism. Financial institutions would need strong systems for combating these threats, supported by national legal infrastructure.</p>
<p>Another risk is around data protection and privacy. The Central Bank <a href="https://www.enaira.gov.ng/">claims</a> that the:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>eNaira system is built with deep considerations around privacy and data protection and in compliance with the National Data Protection Regulations. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>However, as the system is designed in line with <a href="https://www.cbn.gov.ng/out/2014/fprd/aml%20act%202013.pdf">the guidelines</a> to prevent the illicit flow and use of funds which require identifying transacting parties and the details of their transactions, proper systems need to be in place to ensure that the privacy rights of users of the eNaira system are not violated.</p>
<p>There’s also a need to educate people about the eNaira. Although the central bank says there are ‘campaigns to deepen the understanding of eNaira amongst the population’ it is unclear what this entails. Citizens need to know the difference between the digital representation of cash deposits in bank accounts and the eNaira in digital wallets. </p>
<h2>Is Nigeria ready for it? If not, how can the gaps be addressed?</h2>
<p>Nigeria could certainly pull this off, provided the technology infrastructure and the technological know-how are in place. It is <a href="https://www.cbn.gov.ng/Out/2021/FPRD/eNairaCircularAndGuidelines%20FINAL.pdf">stated</a> that the eNaira shall be administered by the central bank through the Digital Currency Management System to mint and issue eNaira but it appears this system has been built by <a href="https://www.bitt.com/success-stories/enaira">Bitt</a>, a global financial technology company. It provides digital currency and stablecoin solutions to central banks, financial institutions and ecosystem participants worldwide. As such, the maintenance of the eNaira system would very much depend on the technological strength of this company and the extent to which they are retained to provide a maintenance framework for the system.</p>
<p>Another issue is the electricity crisis and <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/484918/internet-user-reach-nigeria/">lack of widespread access</a> to the internet across the country. These should be immediate priorities for the Central Bank, and the government, to resolve for the eNaira system to be successful. It is good to see that there’s a plan for the system to be usable while offline. </p>
<p>Another challenge that the poor may have in accessing the eNaira system is the difficulty of attaining digital identity. The eNaira design plans to use the existing Bank Verification Number and National Identity Number regime. Getting the documents needed for these is expensive and cumbersome.</p>
<p>As <a href="https://www.unfpa.org/data/world-population/NG">Nigeria</a> has the largest population on the continent, spearheading this process could signal the start of a regional monetary integration. If central bank digital currency arrangements could work together across the continent it could solve the challenge of the <a href="https://blogs.worldbank.org/allaboutfinance/solving-africa-s-currency-illiquidity-problem">inconvertibility of African currencies</a>. This could help intraregional trade, which has been <a href="https://www.bacb.co.uk/news/2021/challenges-and-opportunities-of-intra-african-trade-whitepaper">challenging</a> to achieve in Africa. With the African Continental Free Trade agreement now operational, the successful launch of the eNaira might be a step towards regional monetary integration in Africa and potentially a regional central bank digital currency.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/171323/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Iwa Salami does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Nigeria can pull off its newly introduced digital currency but there are concerns that must be addressed for its smooth operations.Iwa Salami, Reader (Associate Professor) in Law, University of East LondonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1561272021-03-03T19:06:30Z2021-03-03T19:06:30ZThanks to the internet, we know what’s happening in Myanmar. But a communication blackout may be near<p>Social media has given us valuable access to the actions of both the military and anti-coup protesters in Myanmar, but a communication blackout may be coming. </p>
<p>The country’s military seized control of the government on February 1, after the National League for Democracy (NLD) won the general election in a landslide.</p>
<p>The opposition-backed army has since detained hundreds of NLD members, including party leader Aung San Suu Kyi.</p>
<p>Thousands have taken to the streets in protest, relying heavily on open communication channels to broadcast military abuses from inside and receive support from outside. And activists likely haven’t seen the last of the military’s attempts to shut these down. </p>
<h2>Broadcasting human rights abuses</h2>
<p>After just one month, there is an astonishing internet archive documenting both the harms done by the military since the coup, as well as countless acts of protest. </p>
<p>There are shocking videos of military personnel <a href="https://twitter.com/soezeya/status/1363896903063117827">showing off their guns</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/soezeya/status/1365531767898181632?s=20">drone footage</a> of people being detained in monasteries, and snapshots into ongoing acts of violence.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1366771745848393730"}"></div></p>
<p>At the same time, demonstrators are using social media to find creative ways to keep morale high, such as by staging candle-lit vigils. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1366774194399182848"}"></div></p>
<p>In response to the massive civil disobedience movement, the military has partially stopped communications to the outside world. For the past 17 days, internet access in Myanmar has been blocked at night. </p>
<p>In doing so the army is demonstrating it can control internet access without, for now, completely cutting off Myanmar off from the rest of the world.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1366459862574596097"}"></div></p>
<p>Parts of the country had already had internet cut off since June 2019, in what has <a href="https://time.com/5910040/myanmar-internet-ban-rakhine/">been dubbed</a> the “world’s longest internet shutdown” by the <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/06/19/myanmar-end-worlds-longest-internet-shutdown">Human Rights Watch</a>.</p>
<p>Days after the coup began, Facebook was <a href="https://time.com/5943151/facebook-myanmar-military-ban/">blocked nationwide</a> and remains blocked by most internet service providers. Adding to this, a <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-myanmar-politics-internet-idUSKBN2AB0WK">new cybersecurity law</a> has been drafted which would give the army sweeping powers to censor citizens online and violate their privacy.</p>
<p>So far these efforts have only been partially successful. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/covid-coup-how-myanmars-military-used-the-pandemic-to-justify-and-enable-its-power-grab-155350">COVID coup: how Myanmar’s military used the pandemic to justify and enable its power grab</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Watching the cat and mouse game online</h2>
<p>Myanmar’s <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/world/asia/young-brave-and-media-savvy-the-next-generation-is-the-great-hope-for-democracy-in-myanmar-20210217-p573b6.html">internet-savvy younger generation</a> began sharing information on how to avoid a communication blackout almost as quickly as restrictions were imposed. </p>
<p>When Facebook was blocked, they shifted to Twitter. They’ve <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-02-06/myanmar-military-blocks-internet-facebook-authoritarian-playbook/13126654">been using</a> virtual private networks (VPNs), which mask internet protocol (IP) addresses so a user’s internet activity can’t be traced. </p>
<p>They’ve migrated to platforms offering extra privacy through end-to-end-encryption, such as WhatsApp and Signal. To communicate protest times and locations, they’ve turned to older technologies such as landlines. </p>
<p>And at the same time, they’ve created local networks using newer Bluetooth messaging apps that work over short distances. With these small, decentralised clusters of communication they can avoid cell tower transmission.</p>
<p>But despite activits’ ingenuity, in this cat and mouse game the Myanmar military is ultimately stronger and equipped with far greater resources. As <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/news/how-many-dead-bodies-asked-myanmar-protester-shot-dead-on-bloodiest-day">violence escalates</a>, the military will be increasingly eager to limit the flow of information to and from the country’s citizens.</p>
<p>If the proposed cybersecurity bill becomes law, using VPNs will become illegal. The tweets, images and videos that have kept the outside world informed could come to an abrupt stop, or slow down significantly. </p>
<p>Cutting off internet access entirely in Myanmar would lead to huge economic disruption, too — even more than has already been felt. But the military may still see this as preferable to being derided across the globe, including by its own United Nations ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun. </p>
<p>The ambassador was close to tears before the UN General Assembly as he called on the international community to help restore Myanmar’s democratically elected government. </p>
<p>For the rest of us, a full blackout would mean an absence of critical information that advocates and policymakers rely on to create petitions, lobby governments and corporations, and impose sanctions. But for people inside Myanmar, it would mean much, much worse. </p>
<h2>Putting on the pressure online</h2>
<p>For now, online tools remain salient for those wanting to put pressure on Myanmar’s military. </p>
<p>One online petition <a href="https://www.change.org/p/telenor-stop-telenor-from-enabling-dictatorship-in-myanmar?recruiter=58633740&recruited_by_id=1bbaa430-df7b-0130-f5ac-0022196d7dd0&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink&utm_campaign=petition_dashboard">(now closed)</a> urged Telenor, a Norwegian telecommunications company working in Myanmar, to push back on the proposed cybersecurity law. And the company <a href="https://www.telenor.com/media/press-release/telenor-groups-response-to-proposed-myanmar-cyber-security-bill">did</a>. </p>
<p>Similarly, Facebook took down all accounts linked to Myanmar’s military, blocking their use on Facebook and Instagram and thus stemming one of the military’s primary means of communication. There is still a push to get Facebook to completely <a href="https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/facebook-end-hate-speech-in-burma?link_id=8&can_id=2c06fdbc91b48f6a1353a8c15e4d9bc4&source=email-breaking-two-dead-in-myanmar-murdered-by-the-military-3&email_referrer=email_1091181&email_subject=you-did-it-facebook-announces-partial-ban-of-military-pages">ban the military from promoting its services and products</a>. </p>
<p>There are also online pages that serve as clearinghouses for those who want to offer support. The coup brought Myanmar’s economy <a href="https://www.npr.org/2021/02/05/964405285/myanmars-coup-will-be-painful-for-already-struggling-economy-analysts-warn">to its knees</a>. Activists and the wider public will quickly feel the financial loss spurred by business shutdowns, the protest movement and <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/02/18/myanmar-sanctions-and-human-rights">economic sanctions</a> imposed by foreign states (even where these are carefully targeted).</p>
<p><a href="https://www.isupportmyanmar.com/">Initiatives to support them</a> — largely channelled through groups in the United States and Australia — are taking donations to help pay for protesters’ activities and topping up their phone credits. Some onlookers may choose to support local journalists broadcasting from inside, by subscribing to English newspapers such as <a href="https://www.irrawaddy.com/">The Irrawaddy</a> and <a href="https://www.frontiermyanmar.net/en/">Frontier</a>.</p>
<p>Finally, there are border groups that combine their online presence with on-the-ground work in ethnic minority areas. For example, the Karen ethnic minority group on the border of Thailand and Myanmar posted information about recent <a href="https://twitter.com/WahkusheeT/status/1366721383905046528?s=20">defections of military personnel</a> in favour of the movement.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1366721383905046528"}"></div></p>
<p>In Bangladesh, Rohingya refugees have <a href="https://twitter.com/MyatsuAung19/status/1366034545259249673?s=20">protested against the military coup</a>.</p>
<p>Even if a total blackout befalls Myanmar, activists can use porous borders to cross into nearby countries, especially Thailand and Bangladesh, where infrastructures for activism already exist. </p>
<p>By collecting information from inside the conflict zone, crossing borders and broadcasting it, these groups have the potential to short-circuit internet bans. And with them, online efforts can carry on.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/internet-blackouts-in-myanmar-allow-the-military-to-retain-control-154703">Internet blackouts in Myanmar allow the military to retain control</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/156127/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Susan Banki conducts research on areas bordering Myanmar and has communicated with people from the organizations mentioned in this article. </span></em></p>Technology has played a key role for both sides engaged in the conflict. So what would happen if Myanmar’s military shut down all communication to the outside?Susan Banki, Senior Lecturer, Sydney Southeast Asia Centre, University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1489242020-11-09T14:52:41Z2020-11-09T14:52:41ZHow memes in the DRC allow people to laugh at those in power – and themselves<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/367996/original/file-20201106-13-bfl1f5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Those dressing in designer labels can be the subject of memes in the DRC.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Per-Anders Pettersson/Corbis News via Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Memes have become expressions of contemporary culture worldwide, as people document their daily lives through images. The world of <a href="https://twitter.com/africamemes?lang=en">memes</a> – the humorous images paired with text that mutate and spread rapidly, depending on how funny they are – remind us that humour is also contagious. </p>
<p><a href="https://africacartoons.com/cartoonists/map/drc/">Cartoonists</a> in Africa have also historically engaged their readers through the use of humour. Their expressions become fodder for conversations in public spaces like crowded buses and bars. In the colonial era, cartoons and <a href="https://wallach.columbia.edu/exhibitions/congo-chronicle-patrice-lumumba-urban-art">popular paintings</a> were <a href="https://books.google.co.za/books?id=DDtcPGvlRlIC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false">instrumental</a> in the <a href="https://www.si.edu/object/siris_sil_1091429">struggle</a> for independence in many African countries. </p>
<p>In postcolonial settings they <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/international/2018/12/28/drcs-best-known-political-cartoonist-making-light-of-grim-realities-shares-his-election-hopes/">continue</a> to be mediums that covertly – and sometimes explicitly – mock and challenge abuses of power. </p>
<p>There’s some continuity when comparing memes to cartoons. But the anonymity offered by the virtual quality of meme circulation allows for a different kind of participation. </p>
<p>Photoshopped images of politicians in compromising situations – being caught with their pants down – offer a carnivalesque commentary on the arbitrariness of power. These images galvanise people to laugh at those in power, but also those who are subjected to it.</p>
<p>There are an estimated <a href="https://www.slideshare.net/wearesocial/digital-in-2018-in-middle-africa-86865634?qid=8111df47-9748-4099-9ea7-6b54cbe07aba&v=&b=&from_search=1">5.3 million</a> active internet users in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). But access to technology is limited to people with the financial means. Because censorship in the country is <a href="https://www.indexoncensorship.org/tag/democratic-republic-of-congo/">rife</a>, the online sphere, with its anonymity, provides a platform through which power can be critiqued. The economy of circulating images represents a threat to a government that often shuts off the internet during electoral periods.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/367952/original/file-20201106-21-5wpu7l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A man sits at a desk that's covered in hand drawn cartoons, touching one up on a computer screen in front of him." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/367952/original/file-20201106-21-5wpu7l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/367952/original/file-20201106-21-5wpu7l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367952/original/file-20201106-21-5wpu7l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367952/original/file-20201106-21-5wpu7l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367952/original/file-20201106-21-5wpu7l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367952/original/file-20201106-21-5wpu7l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367952/original/file-20201106-21-5wpu7l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Cartoons paved the way for memes - like those of Congolese cartoonist Kash, seen here in 2013.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">JUNIOR D.KANNAH/AFP via Getty Images</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>There has been an increase in <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/action/doSearch?AllField=memes">academic interest</a> about circulating digital content. But there’s been virtually no research exploring memes and other viral media in Africa. Beginning in 2017, we began <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02560046.2020.1753089">researching</a> memes and their circulation in the DRC’s capital city, Kinshasa. </p>
<p>This research has provided some insights into the cultural characteristics of digital images in the DRC. And also how they relate to larger anxieties about social change and foreign interventions and new forms of <a href="https://datareportal.com/reports/digital-2020-democratic-republic-of-the-congo">online connection</a>. </p>
<h2>Pondu, Versace and the Chinese</h2>
<p>In many of the memes we collected there was a sense of self-reflexive laughter, an ironic self-mockery, that characterised the images. For example, one meme presents an image of Victor Hugo, a 19th century French author, superimposed on an image of a plate of <a href="https://theculturetrip.com/africa/congo/articles/a-brief-history-of-pondu-the-republic-of-congos-favourite-delicacy/">pondu</a>, a Congolese national dish, with a quote supposedly from Hugo himself: “A real woman knows how to cook Pondu.” </p>
<p><div data-react-class="InstagramEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.instagram.com/p/BQ08NRdAIsm","accessToken":"127105130696839|b4b75090c9688d81dfd245afe6052f20"}"></div></p>
<p>Another meme depicts a man in head to toe Versace print and a trolley stacked with luggage emblazoned with the luxury fashion brand logo. The caption: “When your Congolese uncle comes to visit for a week.” These images appeal to people living at home and abroad as they express cultural affinities through images (one might say caricatures) of Congolese culture. This one holds up the stereotype of Congolese people as <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-54323473">obsessed with fashion</a>.</p>
<p>There is a profusion of images depicting Chinese people. These range from light-hearted provocations about cultural stereotypes to some that carry more serious allegations of <a href="https://www.gbreports.com/article/the-chinese-power-grab-in-the-drc">abuse of power</a>. One meme we collected presents a Chinese-owned shop in the DRC featuring a mannequin mimicking a stereotypical Congolese silhouette. Others are suggestive of more serious racial stereotypes. For instance, a Chinese street-food vendor selling grilled rats is ridiculed in one meme. It bears the inscription, “Have you eaten yet?” </p>
<p>Digital content and other oral channels like rumours can become intertwined, and feed one another, which presents a potential danger. For instance, the image of a Chinese woman selling grilled rats might be read as legitimate news rather than a playful jab. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"818493873517428737"}"></div></p>
<p>Images might be used to manipulate people’s attitudes, especially if people are not aware of the complexities of internet content production. This points to the importance of the promotion of internet literacy in the country. </p>
<h2>Technological anxieties</h2>
<p>There are growing assumptions that memes and viral content can alter opinions in a manner that many characterise as manipulation. New psychology <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/9780429492303">studies</a> have raised questions about the agency of the memetic receiver. They suggest that exposure to conspiracy theories is sometimes enough to significantly influence one’s belief. Take the proliferation of memes circulating across Africa about Chinese people. Many are intended to be comical, but others become vehicles of false information that can affect people’s perceptions. </p>
<p>Biological viruses can contaminate, but technology also becomes a means through which contamination can occur. Local belief systems of virality can converge with the notion that images themselves can be potentially virulent, infecting people’s minds on a literal level. For instance, it is not uncommon for a Congolese person to say, “Do not infect my phone with that video of yours. I do not want to be contaminated by those images.” </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-new-media-platforms-have-become-powerful-across-africa-107294">How new media platforms have become powerful across Africa</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>This particular statement speaks not as much to a digital virus as to beliefs about the power of images themselves. Given the threat of Ebola outbreaks, as well as the COVID-19 pandemic, language relating to contamination is particularly salient. </p>
<p>As more people, technology and ideas continue to circulate, anxieties about the proximity of others will continue to make themselves visible through the multiplication of narratives. These narratives now also appear in the memes that people make, circulate and laugh at. </p>
<p>It’s undeniable that the ambiguity of digital technology contributes to our relationships with others. Concerns over contamination, whether cultural or biological, will continue to breed and be fed by the digital domain, contributing to ambivalence towards structural forces circulating in the world. </p>
<p>As the technology used to access and create internet content becomes increasingly available to Congolese people, locally produced content will inevitably continue to multiply and interact with global trends as well as to critique the wider political sphere.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/148924/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lesley Nicole Braun receives funding from the Swiss National Foundation (SNF).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ribio Nzeza Bunketi Buse does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Humour is a way for Congolese internet users to prod at cultural traits and political developments – despite censorship being rife.Lesley Nicole Braun, Senior lecturer, University of BaselRibio Nzeza Bunketi Buse, Associate Professor, University of Kinshasa Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1350042020-04-16T20:38:16Z2020-04-16T20:38:16ZWhat’s next for schools after coronavirus? Here are 5 big issues and opportunities<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/328212/original/file-20200415-153326-o22ary.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=259%2C1076%2C4218%2C2220&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">We're in a tunnel at the moment, and when the pandemic ends what kids and our society needs will look different. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>No schools, no exams, more online learning and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/24/nearly-20-of-global-population-under-coronavirus-lockdown">parents in COVID-19 lockdown</a> with their kids. What a mess! </p>
<p>People are responding heroically. Some parents are working from home, others have lost their jobs and teachers are creating an entire new way of doing their jobs — not to mention the kids themselves, stuck inside without their friends. Somehow, we will get through this. When we do, how will things look when school starts again? </p>
<p>One of my university projects connects and supports the education leaders of six countries and two Canadian provinces <a href="http://atrico.org/">to advance humanitarian values, including in their responses to COVID-19</a>. </p>
<p>From communication with these leaders, and drawing on my <a href="https://us.corwin.com/en-us/nam/the-global-fourth-way/book235155">project team’s expertise in educational leadership and large-scale change</a>, here are five big and lasting issues and opportunities that we anticipate will surface once school starts again. </p>
<h2>Extra student support needed</h2>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/328221/original/file-20200415-153351-2la3rq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/328221/original/file-20200415-153351-2la3rq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=665&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/328221/original/file-20200415-153351-2la3rq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=665&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/328221/original/file-20200415-153351-2la3rq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=665&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/328221/original/file-20200415-153351-2la3rq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=835&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/328221/original/file-20200415-153351-2la3rq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=835&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/328221/original/file-20200415-153351-2la3rq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=835&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Support will be needed for our weakest learners and most vulnerable children to settle down and catch up.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>After weeks or months at home, students will have lost their teachers’ <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S0742-051X(98)00025-0">face-to-face support</a>. Many young people will have experienced poverty and stress. They may have seen family members become ill, or worse. They might have had little chance to play outside. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/06/world/coronavirus-domestic-violence.html">Rates of domestic abuse</a> and fights over <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-coronavirus-pandemic-adds-complexity-to-parental-access-battles/">custody arrangements</a> have been on the rise during the COVID-19 pandemic. </p>
<p>Many children will have lost the habits that schools teach them — sitting in a circle, waiting your turn, knowing how to listen and co-operate. More than a few will exhibit <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24618142">the signs of post-traumatic stress</a>. </p>
<p>A lot will have spent hours <a href="https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/iGen/Jean-M-Twenge/9781501152016">looking at smartphones or playing video games</a>.</p>
<p>And the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2528798/">learning gaps will undoubtedly widen between children from poorer and better-off homes</a>.</p>
<p>Although governments may be anticipating upcoming austerity, we’ll actually need additional resources. We’ll need counsellors, mental heath specialists and learning support teachers to help our weakest learners and most vulnerable children settle down and catch up.</p>
<h2>Prioritizing well-being</h2>
<p>Well-being will no longer be dismissed as a fad. Before this crisis, there were murmurings that <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/9780429401039">student well-being was a distraction</a> from proper learning basics. No more. </p>
<p>It’s now clear that without their teachers’ care and support it’s hard for many young people to stay well and focused. Being well, we’ll appreciate, isn’t an alternative to being successful. It’s an essential precondition for achievement, especially among our most vulnerable children.</p>
<h2>More gratitude for teachers</h2>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/328083/original/file-20200415-153326-k8t3bd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/328083/original/file-20200415-153326-k8t3bd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=442&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/328083/original/file-20200415-153326-k8t3bd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=442&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/328083/original/file-20200415-153326-k8t3bd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=442&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/328083/original/file-20200415-153326-k8t3bd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=556&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/328083/original/file-20200415-153326-k8t3bd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=556&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/328083/original/file-20200415-153326-k8t3bd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=556&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Teacher Angie Stringer, with a ‘Stringer loves her students,’ at a car parade in March 2020, in Suwanee, Ga.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Curtis Compton/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Teachers are <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2020/04/08/veteran-teacher-has-mini-covid-19-educator-meltdown-realizes-that-less-is-more-with-online-learning/">among the unsung heroes of COVID-19</a>: preparing resources and guidance for remote learning, dropping off school supplies in plastic boxes, connecting with kids and their parents to make sure they’re OK — even while many have kids of their own at home. </p>
<p><a href="https://dianeravitch.net/2020/04/14/the-coronavirus-just-might-end-school-privatization-nonsense/">Parents are fast coming</a> to appreciate <a href="https://books.google.ca/books/about/Professional_Capital.html?id=2sRWQxBBsj4C">everything their teachers do</a>. </p>
<p>It’s hard enough when parents have two or three kids at home all day now. Many will surely realize just how hard it must be to have 25 to 30 or more in a class. Once the working world regains a degree of normality, we won’t take our essential workers for granted so much. Teachers will be among these.</p>
<h2>Vocational skills and training</h2>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/328175/original/file-20200415-153334-iii7cm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/328175/original/file-20200415-153334-iii7cm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/328175/original/file-20200415-153334-iii7cm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=837&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/328175/original/file-20200415-153334-iii7cm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=837&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/328175/original/file-20200415-153334-iii7cm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=837&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/328175/original/file-20200415-153334-iii7cm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1052&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/328175/original/file-20200415-153334-iii7cm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1052&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/328175/original/file-20200415-153334-iii7cm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1052&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Trades before social distancing: Instructor Jeff Mitchell, left, guides students with the construction trades program at Berrien Springs High School, in Benton Harbor, Mich., in November 2019.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Don Campbell/The Herald-Palladium via AP)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The dignity and importance of <a href="https://unevoc.unesco.org/wtdb/worldtvetdatabase_can_en.pdf">vocational education, skills and training</a> will be reflected in what we teach.</p>
<p>The pandemic has exposed the vulnerability of the global economy to collapses in essential supplies. So Canada will look to <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/commentary/article-five-lasting-implications-of-covid-19-for-canada-and-the-world/">bring some of its essential manufacturing back home</a>. </p>
<p>There will therefore have to be a related push for vocational skills and training, and higher status for schools and programs that provide it.</p>
<p>It’s now obvious how much we depend on and need to value all our essential workers like care home workers, construction workers and retail staff who serve us from behind plexi-glass. My widowed Mum raised three boys while she <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/51135272-moving">cleaned people’s homes, worked in local stores, and cared for other people’s children</a>. There was nothing unskilled about what she did.</p>
<p>While no one quite agrees on <a href="https://www.macleans.ca/society/what-does-it-mean-to-be-working-class-in-canada">what it means to be “working class,”</a> what’s clear is it involves sectors of work, pay levels <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0038040713498777">and a generational accumulation of cultural and social capital, dispositions and tastes</a>. </p>
<p>When the regular economy starts up again, some people will feel proud to call themselves working class once more and insist on the financial and broader recognition that goes with it.</p>
<p>This also implies rethinking <a href="https://www.glomhi.org/gigs.html">the gig economy</a> and its impact on people’s lives, as well as what kinds of learning positions people to survive tumultuous changes, experience mobility and build meaningful lives. </p>
<h2>More and less tech for education</h2>
<p>During COVID-19, there’s been a mad scramble to find technology to support learning at home. But in our ARC Education project network, the deputy minister of education in one provinces informed us that upwards of 30 per cent of students don’t have internet access or digital devices at home. </p>
<p>As money gets tighter, families on the edge of poverty may also have to choose between maintaining <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/technology/article-anti-poverty-group-calls-for-cheaper-internet-access-for-low-and/">internet services or putting food on the table</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/327869/original/file-20200414-117553-1wom91z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/327869/original/file-20200414-117553-1wom91z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/327869/original/file-20200414-117553-1wom91z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/327869/original/file-20200414-117553-1wom91z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/327869/original/file-20200414-117553-1wom91z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/327869/original/file-20200414-117553-1wom91z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/327869/original/file-20200414-117553-1wom91z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Student Jillian Reid, 9, works at a laptop in Cremona, Alta., in March 2020.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Uruguay, one of the countries in our project, <a href="http://atrico.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Plan-Ceibal-contingency-plan-coronavirus-MFR-V-0.6.pdf">set up an arms’ length government innovation agency in 2007</a>. Every child was given a personal device and an internet connection. This stimulated more than a third of the country’s schools to develop projects in which innovation and deeper learning, not just technology, are in the foreground. </p>
<p>In this pandemic, technology has supplemented teaching and teachers; not replaced them. During the first week of school closures in Uruguay, use of the agency’s platform increased by 1,100 per cent. Canada needs to develop a coherent and comprehensive national approach to tech connectivity and learning that will support all schools.</p>
<p>Conversely, there will also be less technology. We certainly need better digital resources. But anyone who thought that online learning can replace teachers will be rapidly disabused of the idea — especially parents stuck inside with children when kids can’t concentrate or self-regulate. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/mandatory-e-learning-is-a-problem-in-ontario-high-schools-133041">Mandatory e-learning is a problem in Ontario high schools</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>We’re in a long, dark tunnel at the moment. When we emerge, our challenge will be to not proceed exactly as before, but to reflect deeply on what we have experienced, and take a sharp turn in education and society for the better.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/135004/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andy Hargreaves receives funding from - Contributions of $30,000Cn each from the eight educational ministries that comprise the ARC Education Project based at the University of Ottawa - they are Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia, Iceland, Finland, Ireland, Wales, Scotland and Uruguay.</span></em></p>An expert predicts a rethink on technology access, reconnecting with the working class, and more.Andy Hargreaves, Research Professor in Education, Boston CollegeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1353132020-04-02T04:55:17Z2020-04-02T04:55:17ZHow to boost your internet speed when everyone is working from home<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/324803/original/file-20200402-23115-17am6p0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=34%2C8%2C5699%2C3807&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>With #StayAtHome and social distancing now becoming a way of life, an increasing number of people are relying on the internet for work, education and entertainment. This has placed greater demand on our network infrastructure, reducing the <a href="https://www.nbnco.com.au/utility/glossary-of-terms">bandwidth</a> available for each user, and is leaving people frustrated at seemingly slow internet speeds. </p>
<p>While internet service providers such as TPG or Telstra may not be able to instantly respond to these changes, there are a few tricks you can use to boost your home internet’s speed.</p>
<h2>Why is your internet slow?</h2>
<p>There may be many reasons why your internet speed is slow. Internet use requires a reliable connection between your device and the destination, which may be a server that is physically located on the other side of the world.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/324804/original/file-20200402-23121-12pnqu3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/324804/original/file-20200402-23121-12pnqu3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/324804/original/file-20200402-23121-12pnqu3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/324804/original/file-20200402-23121-12pnqu3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/324804/original/file-20200402-23121-12pnqu3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/324804/original/file-20200402-23121-12pnqu3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=603&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/324804/original/file-20200402-23121-12pnqu3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=603&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/324804/original/file-20200402-23121-12pnqu3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=603&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Did you try turning your router off and on again? Tip: make sure it’s turned off for at least ten seconds.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Your connection to that server could pass through <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_to_live">hundreds</a> of devices on its journey. Each one of these is a potential failure, or weak point. If one point along this path isn’t functioning optimally, this can significantly affect your internet experience.</p>
<p>Web servers in particular are often affected by external factors, including <a href="https://theconversation.com/from-botnet-to-malware-a-guide-to-decoding-cybersecurity-buzzwords-77958">Denial of Service (DOS)</a> attacks, wherein an overload of traffic causes congestion in the server, and impedes proper functioning.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/mygovs-ill-timed-meltdown-could-have-been-avoided-with-elastic-computing-134665">MyGov's ill-timed meltdown could have been avoided with 'elastic computing'</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>While you may not have control over these things from your home network, that doesn’t mean you don’t have options to improve your internet speed. </p>
<h2>Wifi signal boost</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://kb.netgear.com/235/What-is-a-wireless-access-point">access point</a> (wireless router) in your home network is used to connect your devices to your internet service provider. Most access points provide a wireless signal with limited channels, which can suffer interference from nearby signals, like your neighbour’s. A “channel” is a kind of virtual “pipe” through which data is transferred.</p>
<p>Although your devices are designed to avoid interference by switching channels automatically (there are usually 14 available), it may help to check your router settings, as some are set to a single channel by default. When trying different options to reduce interference, it’s advisable to select <a href="https://www.metageek.com/training/resources/why-channels-1-6-11.html">channels 1, 6 or 11</a> as they can help to minimise problems (for 2.4GHz wireless).</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/324761/original/file-20200401-23130-molfs4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/324761/original/file-20200401-23130-molfs4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/324761/original/file-20200401-23130-molfs4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=245&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/324761/original/file-20200401-23130-molfs4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=245&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/324761/original/file-20200401-23130-molfs4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=245&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/324761/original/file-20200401-23130-molfs4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=308&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/324761/original/file-20200401-23130-molfs4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=308&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/324761/original/file-20200401-23130-molfs4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=308&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">This diagram shows the frequency and channel distribution for 2.4GHz.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://meta.stackexchange.com/questions/344491/an-update-on-creative-commons-licensing?cb=1">Rob/Stack Exchange</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What else can you do?</h2>
<p>There are further things you can try to improve your wifi signal. If your router supports 5GHz wifi signals, <a href="https://www.techadvisor.co.uk/how-to/network-wifi/how-change-wi-fi-channel-3325316/">switching to this</a> can provide a faster data rate, but over shorter distances. Reposition your router for best coverage (usually a central position). </p>
<p>The difference between 2.4GHz and 5GHz wifi signals is they have different data transmission speeds. While 5GHz can transfer data faster (with 23 available channels), 2.4GHz provides a wider range. If you want speed, go for 5GHz. For better coverage, choose 2.4GHz.</p>
<p>Some domestic appliances can cause interference with your router. It’s worth checking if using your microwave oven, cordless phone or baby monitor affects your connection, as they may be using the same frequency as your router. </p>
<p>Using a <a href="https://www.pcmag.com/news/wireless-witch-how-to-place-a-wireless-extender">wifi extender</a> can help with coverage by boosting or extending the signal.</p>
<h2>Viruses and malware</h2>
<p>To avoid computer viruses, make sure you regularly check for updates on your devices and use antivirus software. It’s also worth rebooting your router to clear specific malware (malicious software designed to damage your device or server), such as <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-announces-actions-disrupt-advanced-persistent-threat-28-botnet-infected">VPNFilter</a> – a malware that <a href="https://blog.malwarebytes.com/cybercrime/2018/06/vpnfilter-malware-still-making-waves/">infects more than half a million routers</a> in more than 50 countries.</p>
<p>You should also check the following:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>does your router need to be replaced with a newer model? This may be the case if it has been used for many years. Newer models support enhanced functions and faster internet speeds</p></li>
<li><p>is the <a href="https://techterms.com/definition/firmware">firmware</a> of your wireless router <a href="https://windowsreport.com/update-router-firmware/">updated</a>? You can do this by visiting the device manufacturer’s website. This will help fix problems and allow additional functionality. It’s unlikely this update is done automatically. </p></li>
</ul>
<h2>Planning your internet usage</h2>
<p>If multiple people are streaming video at your home, which often requires <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2020/mar/13/covid-19-could-cause-permanent-shift-towards-home-working">ten times the daytime demand</a>, a limited internet connection will soon be fully used.</p>
<p>Try to plan your and family members’ online activities around peak times. Before the pandemic hit, most internet usage was likely oriented around the early evenings, after close of business. With the shift to remote working and schooling, more internet access is likely during the day, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2020/mar/13/covid-19-could-cause-permanent-shift-towards-home-working">with a 10% usage increase overall, and a 30% increase at peak times</a>.</p>
<p>Outside your home, connectivity is likely to be on a “best effort” plan, which shares a fixed bandwidth with other users. In other words, your mobile internet bandwidth is shared with others in your area when they access the internet at the same time. A shared bandwidth results in slower individual speeds.</p>
<p>You can’t control how many people access the internet, but you can manage your own internet activity by downloading large files or content overnight, or outside of peak hours (when there is less traffic).</p>
<h2>How to improve your ISP’s network issues</h2>
<p>While you can try to fix issues and optimise the setup inside your home, unfortunately you can’t really influence network performance outside of it. Thus, contacting your internet service provider’s call centre and seeking support is your best option.</p>
<p>All of the above considered, it’s important to remember that when using the internet, we’re sharing a limited resource. Just like buying pasta or toilet paper, there are many who need it just as much as you, so use it wisely.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/vital-signs-nbns-new-price-plans-are-too-little-too-late-123750">Vital Signs: NBN's new price plans are too little, too late</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/135313/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Your mobile internet bandwidth is shared with others in your area. That’s why many people trying to access the iternet at the same time results in slower speeds.James Jin Kang, Lecturer, Edith Cowan UniversityPaul Haskell-Dowland, Associate Dean (Computing and Security), Edith Cowan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1339052020-03-18T03:05:20Z2020-03-18T03:05:20ZCoronavirus: telcos are picking up where the NBN is failing. Here’s what it means for you<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/321204/original/file-20200318-37392-1yb6ry3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=105%2C81%2C5320%2C3538&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption"></span> </figcaption></figure><p>Telecommunication providers are taking positive steps to meet consumers’ demands in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, the National Broadband Network (NBN Co) is being urged to reduce its wholesale broadband charges for these providers. </p>
<p>Companies such as Telstra and Optus offer broadband plans over the NBN, purchasing broadband data from the NBN at wholesale prices, which they then distribute to customers. In this time of crisis, the NBN should slash its wholesale prices. This will enable providers to purchase the extra data needed to meet demand as the country adopts widespread social-distancing.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/nbn-urged-to-intervene-as-pandemic-tests-broadband-connections-20200316-p54ain.html">Several</a> <a href="https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/technology/unprecedented-demand-for-nbn/news-story/753610eb604595b878cd8880739d4618">media</a> <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/breakfast/nbn-braces-for-increased-load-as-covid-19-keeps-people-at-home/12062128">outlets</a> have covered how data usage over the NBN is expected to boom as more people self-isolate, and start working and studying from home. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, at a time when Australians are depending on the NBN for high speeds and reliable connections for telework and remote education, many people may be let down. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1239366108450189312"}"></div></p>
<h2>Expect strain</h2>
<p>Communications representatives from <a href="https://www.paulfletcher.com.au/media-releases/media-release-telco-industry-roundtable-on-covid-19">both</a> <a href="https://www.michellerowland.com.au/news/media-releases-communications/media-release-temporary-capacity-relief-for-telcos-should-be-considered-if-nbn-becomes-congested-16-march-2020/">sides</a> of government have acknowledged the virus’s spread will lead to hordes of people becoming reliant on the web for work and study. </p>
<p>This will lead to increased online traffic, slower internet speeds and higher wholesale costs for providers serviced by the NBN, limiting the amount of extra data these providers can purchase.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/working-at-home-to-avoid-coronavirus-this-tech-lets-you-almost-replicate-the-office-133350">Working at home to avoid coronavirus? This tech lets you (almost) replicate the office</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>On Monday the <a href="https://www.paulfletcher.com.au/media-releases/media-release-telco-industry-roundtable-on-covid-19">federal government</a> reported the NBN had experienced a “modest increase of around 6% throughout the day and at peak times” in comparison to figures predating COVID-19’s spread.</p>
<p>Looking forward, the network expects busy-hour traffic, typically between 6pm and 9pm, to <a href="https://minister.infrastructure.gov.au/fletcher/media-release/telco-industry-roundtable-covid-19">increase by up to 40%</a>, in line with other countries’ experiences. In Italy, data shared with NBN by <a href="https://www.telecomitalia.com/tit/it.html">Telecom Italia</a> showed Italy’s busy-hour traffic had increased by about 26%.</p>
<h2>A second-rate system</h2>
<p>In Australia, the Coalition government’s 2013 decision to move to a copper-based multi-technology-mix NBN, instead of Labor’s all-fibre network with fibre to the premises (FTTP), has seen Australia fall down the global broadband rankings. Fibre to the premises is when fibre-optic lines run from the nearest available node directly to a premises.</p>
<p>Currently, low-quality streaming over the NBN occurs for two reasons. Firstly, because of the NBN’s high data charges for service providers, and also because of the second-rate multi-technology-mix infrastructure. And this will only worsen as more people adhere to social-distancing and isolation measures.</p>
<p>Entertainment and sport are often streamed over the NBN at a resolution of 576p rather than the high-definition 1080p or 4K. Frustrated viewers are left watching media at a quality similar to old analogue television, due to the NBN’s use of obsolete, slow and unreliable technology since 2014, under the Coalition government.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-could-spark-a-revolution-in-working-from-home-are-we-ready-133070">Coronavirus could spark a revolution in working from home. Are we ready?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Media streaming companies including <a href="https://www.foxtel.com.au/whats-on/foxtel-insider/foxtel/iq4k/satellite-vs-internet.html">Foxtel</a> have also complained their poor streaming quality is a result of this.</p>
<p>With COVID-19 causing mass disruptions, Comcast-owned media and entertainment company NBCUniversal recently <a href="https://corporate.comcast.com/press/releases/comcast-nbcuniversal-moves-to-make-current-movies-available-in-the-home">announced</a> it will end the practice of delaying online film releases to streaming companies like Netflix for several months after the film’s cinema release. </p>
<p>NBCUniversal said, in reference to social distancing and smaller audiences expected at cinemas: “Current circumstances have made it more challenging to view our films.”</p>
<p>Unfortunately for Australians, even if we can get new movies over the NBN the same day they’re released, we could be stuck with poor quality and congestion during peak times. </p>
<h2>Our neighbours set an example</h2>
<p>In New Zealand, an FTTP rollout has been progressing since 2012. Connections to Chorus <a href="https://www.chorus.co.nz/">UFB broadband</a> (New Zealand’s NBN equivalent) cost a flat monthly fee for service providers, don’t incur a data usage charge and have no data usage limits. </p>
<p>This has allowed companies to quickly respond to the pandemic, and they have begun offering extra content free of charge. For instance, <a href="http://itwire.com/entertainment/nz-s-spark-sport-channel-offers-free-viewing-until-may.html">Spark Sport</a> is providing its six sports channels and on-demand offerings at no charge for existing and new customers until May.</p>
<p>In a <a href="https://www.nbnco.com.au/corporate-information/media-centre/media-statements/increase-in-residential-data-demand">statement</a>, NBN Co chief executive Stephen Rue said the company was working with retailers to “do everything possible to optimise the NBN to support the expected increase in residential use”.</p>
<p>On Tuesday, when asked if there would be cost subsidies for retailers or consumers, <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/breakfast/nbn-braces-for-increased-load-as-covid-19-keeps-people-at-home/12062128">Rue told the ABC</a> the NBN was working with retailers, to ensure they would be provided with “the capacity they need”.</p>
<p>The NBN published a guide on <a href="http://www.nbn.com.au/workingfromhome">working from home</a> during the pandemic. It highlights the need for broadband consumers to purchase an NBN plan that offers the right speed necessary for their internet activities. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1238794762318041089"}"></div></p>
<h2>NBN, now’s the time to show-up for Australians</h2>
<p>While the NBN is set to benefit from the extra data usage during the pandemic, Telstra and Optus have taken a <a href="https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/technology/telstra-optus-offer-free-internet-access-during-coronavirus-pandemic-calls-for-nbn-to-follow/news-story/06d4540a20b35a9ba358807dfa29c14e">positive step</a> by offering customers additional broadband data and internet access, free of charge.</p>
<p>During April, <a href="https://www.optus.com.au/for-you/support/answer?id=20065">Optus will provide an additional 20GB for postpaid mobile customers and 10GB for prepaid</a> customers. <a href="https://exchange.telstra.com.au/supporting-our-customers-during-covid-19/">Telstra has gone one step further to provide an extra 25GB for postpaid mobile customers</a>, if they apply for it through <a href="https://www.telstra.com.au/my-account/telstra-24x7-app">the Telstra 24x7 app</a>. </p>
<p>Moreover, Telstra home broadband users will have unlimited data from this Thursday until April 30. Telstra will be paying NBN a potentially huge amount for this extra data deployment. </p>
<p>For the sake of the public, the NBN should reduce its wholesale data charges during this pandemic. It could look to move to a flat monthly access fee with no data usage charges, similar to the approach taken in New Zealand.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/telecommuting-could-curb-the-coronavirus-epidemic-133308">Telecommuting could curb the coronavirus epidemic</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The good news is the NBN will probably eventually heed calls to action and lower these charges. </p>
<p>The network is already a lemon, and it’s unlikely the NBN Co board will risk the public backlash it will receive if it’s seen trying to shore up its weak bottom line at a time of national crisis.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/133905/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mark A Gregory does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Telstra and Optus have already made arrangements to support customers with extra, free data during the COVID-19 pandemic. But what is the NBN doing?Mark A Gregory, Associate professor, RMIT UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1331532020-03-10T05:35:04Z2020-03-10T05:35:04ZRestricting underage access to porn and gambling sites: a good idea, but technically tricky<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/319501/original/file-20200310-61066-c0h5s2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=53%2C0%2C5923%2C3839&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption"></span> </figcaption></figure><p>Australia should work towards adopting a mandatory age-verification system for gambling and pornography websites, according to a <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/House/Social_Policy_and_Legal_Affairs/Onlineageverification/Report">recommendation</a> from the federal parliamentary cross-party committee on social and legal issues.</p>
<p>The recommendation follows the committee’s inquiry findings, released last month as a report titled <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/House/Social_Policy_and_Legal_Affairs/Onlineageverification/Report">Protecting the age of innocence</a>. It identified high levels of concern, particularly among parents, about underage access to pornography and gambling sites.</p>
<p>The committee has asked Australia’s <a href="https://www.esafety.gov.au/">eSafety Commissioner</a> and <a href="https://www.dta.gov.au/">Digital Transformation Agency</a> to work towards implementing the system.</p>
<p>But as the UK’s recently aborted effort shows, delivering on this idea will mean overcoming a host of technical and logistical hurdles, including identity fraud and the use of virtual private networks (VPNs) or anonymising browsers such as Tor.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/is-that-porn-your-child-is-watching-online-how-do-you-know-64120">Is that porn your child is watching online? How do you know?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Like most developed countries, Australia has long had laws that restrict underage access to adults-only products. Attempting to buy a bottle of beer will quickly prompt a request for proof of age. </p>
<p>But for as long as there have been rules, people have looked for ways to break them. Would-be underage drinkers can attempt to find a fake ID, a retailer willing to ignore the law, or simply an older friend or relative willing to buy some beer for them.</p>
<p>Just like alcohol, access to gambling and pornography have been age-restricted by law for some time. This used to be relatively easy to enforce, when the only way to access such items was through a retail store. But everything changed when these things became available on the internet. </p>
<p>Pornography and gambling represent significant proportions of web searches and traffic. According to one <a href="https://www.statista.com/chart/16959/share-of-the-internet-that-is-porn/">recent estimate</a>, pornography accounts for up to 20% of internet activity.</p>
<p>According to the committee’s report, the average age of first exposure to pornography is now <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/House/Social_Policy_and_Legal_Affairs/Onlineageverification/Report/section?id=committees%2freportrep%2f024436%2f72615">between 8 and 10 years</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>It’s now not a matter of “if” a child will see pornography but “when”, and the when is getting younger and younger.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The report also warns that adolescents are <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/House/Social_Policy_and_Legal_Affairs/Onlineageverification/Report/section?id=committees%2freportrep%2f024436%2f72616">increasingly exposed to gambling advertisements</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Adolescents today are increasingly exposed to gambling marketing… alongside increased accessibility and opportunities to gamble with the rise of internet and smart phone access.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In an era where age-limited content is available for free to anyone with a web browser, how do we enforce age restrictions? </p>
<p>Age verification legislation for online pornography has already been tried in the UK, when it introduced the <a href="http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2017/30/contents/enacted">Digital Economy Act 2017</a>. But by 2019 the attempt was <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2019/oct/16/uk-drops-plans-for-online-pornography-age-verification-system">abandoned</a>, citing technical and privacy concerns. </p>
<h2>No easy task</h2>
<p>It seems simple in principle but is fraught with difficulty in practice. Given the global scale of these industries, it is almost impossible for the government to even generate a list of applicable websites. Without a definitive list, it will be difficult to block access to sites that do not comply. </p>
<p>The situation is complicated further by the fact that many sites are hosted overseas, meaning they may have to provide different age-verification mechanisms for users in different jurisdictions.</p>
<p>Credit card verification has become the default solution, as there are global platforms to verify credit cards. But while it is possible to verify a card number, there are various ways to obtain such details. </p>
<p>A minor could potentially use a parent’s credit card, or even fraudulently obtain their own. Other ID options such as driving licences could potentially be used instead, but this may not be a popular option for legitimate users because of the risks of identity fraud or privacy breaches. This would also pose logistical challenges: imagine a US-hosted pornography site having to verify Australian driving licence details.</p>
<h2>Workarounds already exist</h2>
<p>Even if a technical solution is found, there are already established ways to evade the rules. Consumers are increasingly turning to <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-is-a-virtual-private-network-vpn-12741">VPNs</a> to <a href="https://www.techradar.com/au/vpn/best-netflix-vpn">bypass regional restrictions on media content</a>. </p>
<p>A VPN allows a user’s internet traffic to appear to originate from another location. Often referred to as “tunnelling”, it effectively fools systems or services into thinking you are in another part of the world, by swapping the users’ local IP (internet) address with another address. Some VPN providers now explicitly advertise their product as a solution to the regional restrictions of streaming companies like Netflix and Amazon. </p>
<p>It’s not hard to imagine that many consumers would turn to VPNs to dodge any verification procedures implemented here in Australia.</p>
<p>Consumers concerned about privacy are also likely to use the <a href="https://www.cryptoversal.com/blog/how-to-bypass-restrictions-of-online-casinos-in-regulated-countries">Tor</a> browser. </p>
<p>Tor works in a similar way to a VPN. While it still hides the location of the user (potentially looking like they are in another country), Tor also ensures that traffic is bounced between multiple points on the internet to further obscure the user (and thus their age).</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/new-laws-are-not-necessarily-the-answer-to-counter-the-real-threat-pornography-poses-69287">New laws are not necessarily the answer to counter the real threat pornography poses</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The committee has acknowledged this but vowed to press on regardless, <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/House_of_Representatives/About_the_House_News/Media_Releases/Parliamentary_Committee_recommends_mandatory_age_verification_for_online_pornography_and_wagering">arguing</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>While age verification is not a silver bullet, it can create a significant barrier to prevent young people — and particularly young children — from exposure to harmful online content. We must not let the perfect be the enemy of the good.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>It is still early days, and there is much work for the eSafety Commissioner and the Digital Transformation Agency to do. It is also clear there is both government and public pressure to identify and implement solutions to safeguard children and vulnerable individuals. But unfortunately, human nature will inevitably render any developed solution as more full of holes than a block of Emmental.</p>
<p>It would be easy to say we shouldn’t bother, or that parents should take responsibility. The reality is that implementing any solution will protect at least some of the vulnerable population and will form part of a layered approach. With widespread support, targeted education and age-verification, there is, perhaps, the potential for success.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/133153/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Paul Haskell-Dowland does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Accessing gambling and pornography sites may well get harder in Australia, if plans for mandatory age-verification go ahead. But there are already technical workarounds for determined web users.Paul Haskell-Dowland, Associate Dean (Computing and Security), Edith Cowan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1286422020-01-08T15:40:35Z2020-01-08T15:40:35ZCould 5G replace cable broadband?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/309068/original/file-20200108-107209-1de2etz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/telecommunication-tower-5g-cellular-network-antenna-1430369297">Suwin/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Millions of people in developed countries still don’t have access to superfast broadband, despite years of effort and huge amounts of money being spent to connect remote communities. Traditionally, governments have looked for ways to expand and upgrade their cable networks so that everyone can have fast internet access. But with <a href="https://theconversation.com/5g-what-will-it-offer-and-why-does-it-matter-109010">fifth-generation (5G)</a> mobile technology now offering superfast internet speeds without the need for a fixed-line connection, could we one day do away with cables altogether?</p>
<p>A 5G network supports ultra-high-speed data rates of <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-is-5g-38489">up to 10 Gbps</a>, low latency or delay and can cope with up to <a href="https://www.raconteur.net/technology/4g-vs-5g-mobile-technology">a million devices per square kilometre</a>. With 5G, you can download a typical high-definition movie in under 40 seconds, as opposed to more than seven minutes with 4G. In fact, 5G can let you smoothly play multiple HD videos, make <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-45009458">3D hologram phone calls</a>, access virtual reality apps and enable driverless cars <a href="https://theconversation.com/driverless-cars-are-forcing-cities-to-become-smart-94707">to communicate</a> with each other and traffic infrastructure.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, 4G devices are not compatible with these networks and to access them you will need a 5G phone with higher processing power and larger memory capacity (12 GB or more), as well as things like 3D holographic projectors if you want to use those features. But for home access, you would just need a 5G router to connect to your existing devices.</p>
<p>Of course, the big challenge in replacing cable broadband with 5G would be putting the infrastructure in place. The UK’s superfast network (24 Mbps or higher) already reaches <a href="https://labs.thinkbroadband.com/local/">96.4% of addresses</a>, whereas <a href="https://5g.co.uk/coverage/">5G is available only in major cities</a> such as London, Birmingham, Manchester, etc. </p>
<p>But to upgrade cable speeds to those offered by 5G would require connecting every house to the network with its own fibre. Enlarging the 5G network requires the installation of many more transmitters, themselves connected to the fibre network, but each can cover many homes. Because the two approaches involve very different infrastructure challenges, it’s very hard to compare the costs of each option.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/309070/original/file-20200108-107204-1js2i2l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/309070/original/file-20200108-107204-1js2i2l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/309070/original/file-20200108-107204-1js2i2l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/309070/original/file-20200108-107204-1js2i2l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/309070/original/file-20200108-107204-1js2i2l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/309070/original/file-20200108-107204-1js2i2l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/309070/original/file-20200108-107204-1js2i2l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Connecting remote communities to 5G could be easier than laying cables.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/candid-young-happy-woman-using-laptop-733070203">Theeraphong/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>However, just putting the infrastructure in place isn’t enough. To compete with cable broadband providers or to replace the cable network, 5G needs to support similar data rates. And the <a href="https://kenstechtips.com/index.php/download-speeds-2g-3g-and-4g-actual-meaning">typical or practical data rate</a> of mobile networks is much lower than their theoretical data rates. </p>
<p>So, although 5G theoretically supports up to 10 Gbps, its practical data rate can be as low as 200 Mbps. While this would still support typical internet use, it might not be suitable for heavy users who stream multiple simultaneous videos or play high-speed online games.</p>
<p>Another challenge for mobile networks is guaranteeing a reliable service for customers because their signals can be affected by several factors such as distance from the transmitter, obstacles and interference from other devices. This is a major concern for businesses and people who often work from home. </p>
<h2>Technology improving</h2>
<p>But technology providers are developing ways to overcome this problem. For example, “<a href="https://5g.co.uk/guides/what-is-massive-mimo-technology/">massive MIMO</a>” technology of 5G systems use as many as 96 antennas to create multiple simultaneous data connections between devices. “<a href="https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/solutions/enterprise-networks/edge-computing-architecture-5g.html">Edge computing</a>” involves mobile towers doing more of their own data processing and storage, rather than relying on cloud data centres many miles away. These features make 5G a stronger candidate to eventually replace cable broadband.</p>
<p>A trickier obstacle to rolling out a complete, nationwide 5G network might be the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/jul/26/how-baseless-fears-over-5g-rollout-created-a-health-scare">political opposition</a> from people worried that the technology might harm people’s health. <a href="https://theconversation.com/theres-no-evidence-5g-is-going-to-harm-our-health-so-lets-stop-worrying-about-it-120501">There’s no evidence</a> of any health effects from 5G, but convincing everyone that the technology is safe may be a challenge.</p>
<p>With all these barriers to full 5G adoption, it might not be possible to replace cable broadband with 5G broadband completely. But we might end up with a situation where heavy Internet users in major cities or businesses prefer cable broadband for a reliable, secure, high rate of data transfer, and remote or rural areas use 5G because it’s easier than connecting every house to the fibre network.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/128642/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mohammad S. Hasan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Connecting every house to a fibre network is expensive and time-consuming.Mohammad S. Hasan, Senior lecturer in Computing, Staffordshire UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1272672019-11-18T14:12:32Z2019-11-18T14:12:32ZFree broadband: internet access is now a human right, no matter who pays the bills<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/302207/original/file-20191118-66973-fsm8iy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/free-wificloseup-female-hands-holding-mobile-699566149?src=79bc444b-372d-4835-aa6e-506f420f8e93-1-12">panuwat phimpha/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The UK Labour Party is promising to provide free broadband internet to every British household by 2030 if it wins the 2019 election. To do this, the party would nationalise the broadband infrastructure business of BT and tax internet giants like Google and Facebook. Whatever you think of this plan, it at least reflects that the internet has become not only an essential utility for conducting daily life, but also crucial for exercising our political rights. </p>
<p>In fact, I <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/japp.12395">recently published research</a> that shows why internet access should be considered a human right and a universal entitlement. And for that reason, it ought to be provided free to those who can’t afford it, not just in the UK, but around the world.</p>
<p>Internet access is today necessary for leading a minimally decent life, which doesn’t just mean survival but rather includes political rights that allow us to influence the rules that shape our lives and hold authorities accountable. That is why rights such as free speech, free association, and free information are among the central rights included in the UN’s <a href="https://www.un.org/en/universal-declaration-human-rights/">Universal Declaration of Human Rights</a>. And, crucially, everyone needs to have roughly equal opportunities to exercise their political rights. </p>
<p>Before the internet, most people in democracies had roughly equal opportunities to exercise their political rights. They could vote, write to newspapers or their political representative, attend public meetings and join organisations. </p>
<p>But when some people gained internet access, their opportunities to exercise political rights became much greater compared to those without the internet. They could publish their views online for potentially millions of people to see, join forces with other people without having to physically attend regular meetings, and obtain a wealth of previously inaccessible political information.</p>
<p>Today, a large proportion of our political debates take place online, so in some ways our political rights can only be exercised via the internet. This means internet access is required for people to have roughly equal opportunities to make use of their political freedoms, and why we should recognise internet access as a human right.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/302210/original/file-20191118-66941-h5sio6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/302210/original/file-20191118-66941-h5sio6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=392&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/302210/original/file-20191118-66941-h5sio6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=392&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/302210/original/file-20191118-66941-h5sio6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=392&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/302210/original/file-20191118-66941-h5sio6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=492&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/302210/original/file-20191118-66941-h5sio6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=492&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/302210/original/file-20191118-66941-h5sio6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=492&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Much political discussion now happens online.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/speech-bubbles-message-concept-symbol-communication-277096766?src=e3126323-ea15-4a04-8d70-7ab7d0865560-1-1">RawPixel/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As a human right, internet access should be “free” in two ways. First, it should be unmonitored, uncensored, and uninterrupted – as the UN’s General Assembly has demanded in <a href="https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/845728?ln=en">a non-binding resolution in 2016</a>. Second, governments should guarantee a minimally decent infrastructure that is available to all citizens no matter how much money they have. This means funding for internet access should be part of minimum welfare benefits, provided without charge to those who can’t afford to pay for it, just like legal counsel. (This is already the case <a href="https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-net/2017/germany">in Germany</a>.)</p>
<h2>A political goal</h2>
<p>In developing countries, digital infrastructure reaching everyone might be too expensive to guarantee immediately. But with the required technology <a href="https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/wdr2016">becoming cheaper</a> (more people on the planet have access to a web-capable phone than have access to clean water and a toilet), universal access could first be guaranteed via free wifi in public places. Supply can start off in a basic way and grow over time.</p>
<p>Still, expensive infrastructure isn’t the sole obstacle to universal access in developing nations. The spread of the internet could also be increased by promoting <a href="https://a4ai.org/affordability-report/">gender equality and literacy and digital skills</a>. Developed nations ought to support these efforts by honouring their commitments to the <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-are-the-un-sustainable-development-goals-48126">UN Sustainable Development Goals</a>.</p>
<p>Should everyone in Britain have free broadband in their homes? There are many good reasons to provide the best possible internet access to everyone, such as increasing economic productivity, sharing prosperity more evenly across the country, or promoting opportunities for social engagement and civic participation. And, as such, free broadband for all may be a worthy political goal.</p>
<p>But what is most important is ensuring that everyone has the kind of internet access required for roughly equal opportunities to use their political freedoms. Guaranteed internet access should be considered a human right in our virtual world, whoever ultimately pays the bills.</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/300097/original/file-20191104-88382-xr3pj3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/300097/original/file-20191104-88382-xr3pj3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=140&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/300097/original/file-20191104-88382-xr3pj3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=140&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/300097/original/file-20191104-88382-xr3pj3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=140&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/300097/original/file-20191104-88382-xr3pj3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=176&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/300097/original/file-20191104-88382-xr3pj3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=176&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/300097/original/file-20191104-88382-xr3pj3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=176&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/newsletters/the-daily-newsletter-2?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=TCUKGE2019&utm_content=GEBannerC">Click here to subscribe to our newsletter if you believe this election should be all about the facts.</a></em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/127267/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Merten Reglitz does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Guaranteed internet access is now crucial for everyone to equally exercise their political rights.Merten Reglitz, Lecturer in Global Ethics, University of BirminghamLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1261702019-11-14T18:27:52Z2019-11-14T18:27:52ZCities and states take up the battle for an open internet<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/301382/original/file-20191112-178520-1dalirv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=53%2C0%2C6000%2C3997&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Communities across the U.S. are taking network construction into their own hands.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/concept-network-troubleshoot-supporter-administrator-internet-507379189">T.Dallas/Shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Internet service providers like Comcast and Verizon are <a href="https://www.cadc.uscourts.gov/internet/opinions.nsf/FA43C305E2B9A35485258486004F6D0F/%24file/18-1051-1808766.pdf">free to slow down, block or prioritize internet traffic</a> as they wish, without interference by the federal government. That’s the effect of an October ruling by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, <a href="https://www.fcc.gov/document/fcc-releases-restoring-internet-freedom-order">upholding a 2017 ruling by the Federal Communications Commission</a> that reversed rules requiring what is called “<a href="https://theconversation.com/understanding-net-neutrality-10-essential-reads-71848">net neutrality</a>” – treating all internet traffic equally, regardless of where it’s from or what kind of data it is.</p>
<p>Giving corporate telecom giants this power is <a href="http://www.publicconsultation.org/united-states/overwhelming-bipartisan-majority-opposes-repealing-net-neutrality">wildly unpopular among the American people</a>, who know that these companies have <a href="https://www.engadget.com/2016/12/02/fcc-accuses-atandt-and-verizon-of-violating-net-neutrality/">overcharged customers</a> and <a href="https://www.freepress.net/our-response/expert-analysis/explainers/net-neutrality-violations-brief-history">interfered with users’ internet access</a> in the past. </p>
<p>However, people who advocate for an open internet, free of corporate roadblocks, might find solace in another aspect of the court’s ruling: States and local governments may be able to mandate <a href="https://qz.com/1721633/us-net-neutralitys-crushing-defeat-this-week-may-end-up-saving-it/">their own net neutrality rules</a>.</p>
<h2>The effort is underway</h2>
<p>Governors in six states – Hawaii, Montana, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont – have already signed executive orders enforcing net neutrality by prohibiting state agencies from doing business with internet service providers that limit customers’ online access. Four states have passed their own laws <a href="http://www.ncsl.org/research/telecommunications-and-information-technology/net-neutrality-legislation-in-states.aspx">requiring internet companies to treat all online content equally</a>: California, Oregon, Washington and Vermont. A <a href="https://www.governing.com/news/headlines/GT-New-Hampshire-Bill-Will-Allow-Multi-Town-Broadband-System.html">New Hampshire bill</a> is in the works.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.freepress.net/news/press-releases/more-100-mayors-sign-pledge-protect-open-internet-fccs-net-neutrality-repeal">More than 100 mayors</a> representing both large urban centers such as San Francisco and small cities such as Edmond, Oklahoma, have pledged not to sign contracts with internet service providers that violate net neutrality. </p>
<p>These mayors are leveraging the lucrative contracts that their municipalities have with internet providers to wire public schools, libraries and local government buildings to pressure these companies into observing net neutrality throughout the city.</p>
<p>The emerging patchwork of local- and state-level net neutrality legislation could help ensure that millions of Americans have access to an open internet. However, people living outside of these enclaves will still be vulnerable to the whims of for-profit internet service providers. In our new book, “<a href="https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300241402/after-net-neutrality">After Net Neutrality: A New Deal for the Digital Age</a>,” we argue that the best way to protect the public interest is to remove internet service from the commercial market and treat broadband as a public utility.</p>
<p><iframe id="KXdlE" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/KXdlE/3/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<h2>Corporations focus on profits</h2>
<p>Broadband giants have spent <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/news/issues/net_neutrality/">millions of dollars</a> lobbying against federal open internet regulations since 2006. Industry-backed efforts even included funding a network of far-right online trolls <a href="https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/jsvine/net-neutrality-fcc-fake-comments-impersonation">to spam the FCC’s website</a> with anti-net neutrality propaganda. These companies continue to want the <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-09-04/youtube-and-netflix-throttled-by-carriers-research-finds">power to manipulate online traffic</a>, such as charging users and content providers like Netflix <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2014/03/20/netflix-blasts-isps-calls-for-strong-net-neutrality-and-explains-why-it-pays-comcast/">to access each other</a> – even though both are already paying for connections to the internet.</p>
<p>This history of manipulation highlights a recurring challenge to the ideal of net neutrality: Governments seek to reconcile the public’s interest in open, nondiscriminatory online communication with the profit interests of large internet service providers. The resulting policies only narrowly target corporations’ manipulative practices, while letting the companies continue to own and control the physical network itself.</p>
<h2>Cities build their own</h2>
<p>A different vision of how the internet could operate is already taking shape across the United States. In recent years, many cities and towns around the country have <a href="https://muninetworks.org/communitymap">built their own broadband networks</a>. These communities are often seeking to provide affordable high-speed internet service to neighborhoods that the for-profit network providers aren’t adequately serving.</p>
<p>One of the best-known efforts is in the city of <a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/chattanooga-was-a-typical-post-industrial-city-then-it-began-offering-municipal-broadband/">Chattanooga, Tennessee</a>, which built its own high-speed fiber-optic internet network in 2009. </p>
<p>Chattanooga’s experiment has been an unequivocal success: According to <a href="https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/ne5k5m/consumer-reports-broadband-company-ratings">a 2018 survey</a> conducted by Consumer Reports, Chattanooga’s municipal broadband network is the top-rated internet provider in the entire U.S. </p>
<p>More than <a href="https://muninetworks.org/communitymap">500 other communities</a> around the country operate publicly owned internet networks. In general, these networks are <a href="https://cyber.harvard.edu/publications/2018/01/communityfiber">cheaper, faster and more transparent in their pricing</a> than their private sector counterparts, despite lacking Comcast and Verizon’s gigantic economies of scale. Because the people operating municipal broadband networks serve communities rather than large shareholders on Wall Street, they have a vested interest in respecting net neutrality principles.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/301571/original/file-20191113-77326-13rw9zc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/301571/original/file-20191113-77326-13rw9zc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/301571/original/file-20191113-77326-13rw9zc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301571/original/file-20191113-77326-13rw9zc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301571/original/file-20191113-77326-13rw9zc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301571/original/file-20191113-77326-13rw9zc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301571/original/file-20191113-77326-13rw9zc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301571/original/file-20191113-77326-13rw9zc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The city of Chattanooga has connected its residents and businesses with a municipally owned high-speed internet network.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/aerial-chattanooga-tennessee-tn-skyline-1173602353">Kevin Ruck/Shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Thinking bigger</h2>
<p>A number of much larger-scale public broadband initiatives have also been proposed to combat the power of the giant internet companies. In the 2018 election cycle, Democratic gubernatorial candidates from <a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/could-vermont-become-the-first-state-with-universal-broadband/">Vermont</a> and <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/one-democrats-bold-plan-to-win-back-rural-trump-voters-cheap-internet">Michigan</a> proposed building publicly owned statewide internet networks. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.ledgertranscript.com/What-presidential-candidates-are-saying-in-their-broadband-proposals-27938409">Several Democratic presidential candidates</a> have announced plans to build <a href="https://www.benton.org/blog/2020-candidates-offer-plans-extend-reach-broadband">thousands of miles of publicly owned high-speed internet</a> connections. They vary in the details, but all are responses to the concentration of corporate control over internet access – both in terms of who gets high-speed service in what locations at what price, and what content those connections carry. </p>
<p>Together, these initiatives reflect a growing understanding that Americans need a more expansive vision of an open internet to truly realize the <a href="https://www.eff.org/cyberspace-independence">democratic promise of an internet that reaches everyone</a>. </p>
<p>High-quality, affordable, restriction-free internet access can come from publicly owned providers that answer directly to the people. In our view, and in the eyes of a growing number of Americans, the broadband industry uses its entrenched market power to serve itself, not the public.</p>
<p>[ <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=expertise">Expertise in your inbox. Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter and get a digest of academic takes on today’s news, every day.</a></em> ]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/126170/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Victor Pickard is a board member of the media reform organization Free Press. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Elliot Berman does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A recent federal court ruling lets big telecom companies censor the internet in ways that boost their own profits – but also allows local and state governments to outlaw censorship if they wish.David Elliot Berman, Ph.D. Candidate in Communication, University of PennsylvaniaVictor Pickard, Associate Professor of Communication, University of PennsylvaniaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1217432019-08-15T20:00:14Z2019-08-15T20:00:14ZLogged out: farmers in Far North Queensland are being left behind by the digital economy<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/288119/original/file-20190815-136180-w5m5mz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=10%2C0%2C1680%2C899&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Connecting with the digital economy is a trickier prospect out here.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">NGRMG</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Farming families and communities in Queensland’s remote north are being left behind by the digital economy, putting them at significant social and economic disadvantage. </p>
<p>Our <a href="https://www.cairnsinstitute.jcu.edu.au/connectivity-and-digital-inclusion/">report</a>, launched in Cairns today, details the impacts of low levels of “digital inclusion” among farmers in Far North Queensland (FNQ), for whom reliable internet connection is not a given. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australias-digital-divide-is-not-going-away-91834">Australia's digital divide is not going away</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>People in rural and remote areas – including Indigenous communities – score much lower than urban Australians on the <a href="https://digitalinclusionindex.org.au/">Australian Digital Inclusion Index</a>. This index – which measures access to technology, affordability of connections, and digital ability – shows that North West Queensland (which includes FNQ grazing lands) is one of the least digitally included regions in Australia. </p>
<p>The index also shows that farmers have lower digital inclusion scores than others in similar socioeconomic circumstances. Farmers’ experiences of digital exclusion are therefore worthy of investigation. </p>
<p>While some Australian farmers are getting online and adopting various forms of agricultural technology such as drones, sensors and automated vehicles, many are being left behind. Given that a <a href="https://www.industry.gov.au/data-and-publications/australias-tech-future">2018 federal government report</a> on Australia’s tech future predicted that agriculture will be transformed by digital technologies, it is important to understand how best to help farmers in remote areas get on board. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/287675/original/file-20190812-71897-1024wxf.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/287675/original/file-20190812-71897-1024wxf.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/287675/original/file-20190812-71897-1024wxf.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/287675/original/file-20190812-71897-1024wxf.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/287675/original/file-20190812-71897-1024wxf.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=633&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/287675/original/file-20190812-71897-1024wxf.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=633&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/287675/original/file-20190812-71897-1024wxf.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=633&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Australian Digital Inclusion Index - Queensland (2018)</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Our research revealed a range of findings about the impacts of low levels of digital inclusion for FNQ farmers. Here are four of the main insights from the report.</p>
<h2>Farmers pay more for less</h2>
<p>Challenges with unreliable services, network congestion, slow internet speeds, and data caps in rural and regional Australia are <a href="https://theconversation.com/regional-australia-is-crying-out-for-equitable-access-to-broadband-69711">well documented</a>. In rural FNQ, mobile, internet and landline connections are often intermittent or drop out altogether. Therefore, many farmers “layer up” on service plans and devices. </p>
<p>For example, a FNQ farming family may have several mobile phones and plans with different providers, a satellite phone and plan, a home landline, and a wireless or satellite connection to the National Broadband Network (NBN). An urban family, meanwhile, may have just one provider that guarantees access and unlimited data to all devices in the household. Farmers pay more for less. </p>
<h2>Data is scarce in remote households</h2>
<p>Data scarcity is also an issue for farming families, particularly in remote households with only satellite internet connection. Unlike the unlimited fixed-line NBN plans available in urban areas, plans using NBN’s <a href="https://www.nbnco.com.au/corporate-information/media-centre/media-statements/lift-off-for-first-nbn-satellite">Sky Muster</a> satellite are capped, and often more than half of the data is only available in off-peak times, such as between midnight and 7am.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/internet-in-space-nbns-plan-to-bring-broadband-to-rural-australia-46618">Internet in space: nbn's plan to bring broadband to rural Australia</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>This affects how remote families live, and limits people’s access to digital opportunities. Farming women in particular have to monitor the data consumption of adults, kids, workers, and visitors – often there is not enough to go around. </p>
<p>Deciding what digital activities (banking, homework, job-seeking, video-calling) to prioritise – and who misses out – can be stressful and contentious. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/288109/original/file-20190815-136208-1r32oob.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/288109/original/file-20190815-136208-1r32oob.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/288109/original/file-20190815-136208-1r32oob.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/288109/original/file-20190815-136208-1r32oob.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/288109/original/file-20190815-136208-1r32oob.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/288109/original/file-20190815-136208-1r32oob.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/288109/original/file-20190815-136208-1r32oob.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Data scarcity is also an issue for farming families on the Savannah Way, Far North Queensland.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Amber Marshall</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Farmers need to be online to comply with the law</h2>
<p>To meet their <a href="https://www.mla.com.au/meat-safety-and-traceability/red-meat-integrity-system/about-the-livestock-production-assurance-program/lpa-accreditation/">accreditation requirements</a>, FNQ cattle producers must complete online modules on various topics including biosecurity, transport methods, and animal welfare. Complying with <a href="https://www.qld.gov.au/environment/land/management/vegetation/clearing">vegetation clearing laws</a> also involves accessing <a href="https://www.qld.gov.au/environment/land/management/vegetation/maps/map-request">maps</a> that are only readily available online. Many farmers struggle to gain access to the internet, log in on a suitable device, navigate the online platforms, and complete the mandatory training. Many therefore risk noncompliance. </p>
<p>For similar reasons, some graziers are resisting digitisation of the <a href="https://www.nlis.com.au/">National Livestock Identification System</a>, which is used to track the movement of cattle nationally. This system is essential for biosecurity, meat safety, product integrity, and market access. Breaches to the system could have catastrophic consequences for the beef industry, for instance in the event of a freeze on the wider movement of cattle. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/287676/original/file-20190812-71940-iww83c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/287676/original/file-20190812-71940-iww83c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/287676/original/file-20190812-71940-iww83c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/287676/original/file-20190812-71940-iww83c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/287676/original/file-20190812-71940-iww83c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/287676/original/file-20190812-71940-iww83c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/287676/original/file-20190812-71940-iww83c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Farmers complete an online LPA animal welfare module at a Northern Gulf Resource Management Group toolbox talk, Almaden Pub.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Amber Marshall</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The network is essential</h2>
<p>FNQ farmers rely on mobile and internet coverage across properties and between townships for all sorts of activities, from coordinating the everyday school run to responding to an emergency such as a bushfire. Although two-way radios still play an important role in emergency response, people can only respond if they are in range. </p>
<p>In many instances, FNQ farmers can only access reliable phone or internet from their house or the nearest township. While the national <a href="https://www.communications.gov.au/what-we-do/phone/mobile-services-and-coverage/mobile-black-spot-program">Mobile Black Spot Program</a> is helping to bridge gaps in mobile phone service along major road routes, affordable solutions are needed to beam wifi signals substantial distances from the house. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/getting-remote-indigenous-communities-online-19549">Getting remote Indigenous communities online</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What can we do to help?</h2>
<p>There are several things government and industry could do to help improve digital inclusion in FNQ agricultural communities: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>Improve mainstream telecommunications and internet infrastructure, and <strong>embrace alternative hardware solutions</strong> in communities and on properties. For example, <a href="https://www.wi-sky.com.au/">Wi-Sky</a>, which began as a rural cooperative, has built its own towers to offer alternative internet plans to locals in several remote sites in Queensland and New South Wales.</p></li>
<li><p><strong>Redefine affordability</strong> to take account of the “layering up” phenomenon when developing telecommunications policy at all levels. Current methods to determine affordability do not accurately reflect the true cost and value for money of digital connectivity in rural areas. Telecommunications companies could revise their plans to give their rural customers better value for money, for instance by offering tailored mobile plans for intermittently heavy data users who are out of range for long periods. </p></li>
<li><p><strong>Boost farmers’ digital ability</strong> to help them do business in the digital economy. Targeted digital ability programs could foster specific skills that farmers want and need, such as using the livestock identification system. These programs could be delivered in partnership with industry organisations such as <a href="https://www.agforceqld.org.au/">AgForce</a> that already have people on the ground in rural and remote areas. </p></li>
<li><p>Finally, <strong>give farmers a voice</strong>. Our policy-focused report was accompanied by two other reports focusing on <a href="http://accan.org.au/grants/completed-grants/1432-connectivity-and-digital-inclusion-in-far-north-queensland-agricultural-communities">participants and particular case studies</a>. Farmers are telling us what they need to take part in the digital economy. It’s up to government and industry to listen, and to work with communities to devise solutions for improved access, affordability and digital ability.</p></li>
</ul><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/121743/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>This research was undertaken by James Cook University’s The Cairns Institute, with funding from the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN), in partnership with Northern Gulf Resource Management Group. Dr Marshall co-authored the research with Prof Allan Dale (JCU), Prof Hurriyet Babacan (JCU) and A/Prof Michael Dezuanni (QUT). </span></em></p>Remote Queensland farmers are among the least “digitally included” communities in Australia, according to a new report that documents the impacts of low access, affordability and digital ability for families and communites.Amber Marshall, Research fellow, Queensland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1189982019-06-20T20:02:33Z2019-06-20T20:02:33Z30 years since Australia first connected to the internet, we’ve come a long way<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/280347/original/file-20190620-171183-16vpzce.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=520%2C305%2C4446%2C2919&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Out of the science labs, our internet connectivity is now part of our everyday lives.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock/AngieYeoh </span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>This article is part of our occasional long read series <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/zoom-out-51632">Zoom Out</a>, where authors explore key ideas in science and technology in the broader context of society and humanity.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>When Australia joined the global internet on June 23, 1989 – via a connection made by the University of Melbourne – it was mostly used by computer scientists.</p>
<p>Three decades later, <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/8146.0">more than 86% of Australian households</a> are connected to the internet.</p>
<p>But it was a slow start. At first, network capacity was limited to very small volumes of information.</p>
<p>This all changed thanks to the development of vastly more powerful computers, and other technologies that have transformed our online experience.</p>
<p>One of those technologies is probably in front of you now: the screen.</p>
<p>Look at how you view the web, email and apps today: not just on large desktop screens but also handheld devices, and perhaps even an internet-connected wristwatch. </p>
<p>This was barely imaginable 30 years ago. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/280351/original/file-20190620-171208-7wnul9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/280351/original/file-20190620-171208-7wnul9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280351/original/file-20190620-171208-7wnul9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280351/original/file-20190620-171208-7wnul9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280351/original/file-20190620-171208-7wnul9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280351/original/file-20190620-171208-7wnul9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280351/original/file-20190620-171208-7wnul9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Today you can get share price updates on your internet connected Apple Watch.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/shinyasuzuki/17281936100/">Flickr/Shinya Suzuki</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Connected to the world</h2>
<p>By the time Australia <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-australia-connected-to-the-internet-25-years-ago-28106">first connected</a>, the internet had been developing for 20 years. The <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/ARPANET">very first network</a> had been turned on in the United States in 1969.</p>
<p>Australia too had networks during the 1980s, but distance and a lack of interest from commercial providers meant these were isolated from the rest of the world.</p>
<p>This first international link provided just 56 kilobits of national connectivity. A 20th of a megabit for the whole country! That is not even enough to play a single piece of music from a streaming service (encoded at 128kbs), and it would take a week for a movie to be transferred to Australia.</p>
<p>But at that time digital music, video and images were not distributed online. Nor was the internet servicing a large community. Most of the users were academics or researchers in computer science or physics.</p>
<p>With continuous connection came live access. The most immediate impact was that email could now be delivered immediately. </p>
<p>At first, email and internet news groups (discussion forums) were the main traffic, but the connection also gave access to information sharing services such as Archie (an old example <a href="http://archie.icm.edu.pl/archie_eng.html">here</a>) and <a href="https://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/WAIS-Wide-Area-Information-Servers">WAIS</a>, which were mostly used to share software.</p>
<p>There was connection too, in principle at least, to the <a href="https://home.cern/science/computing/birth-web">newly created world wide web</a>, which in June 1989 was just three months old and largely unknown. It wouldn’t become significant for another four years or so.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/280361/original/file-20190620-171271-5cqj6m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/280361/original/file-20190620-171271-5cqj6m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/280361/original/file-20190620-171271-5cqj6m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=511&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280361/original/file-20190620-171271-5cqj6m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=511&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280361/original/file-20190620-171271-5cqj6m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=511&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280361/original/file-20190620-171271-5cqj6m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=642&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280361/original/file-20190620-171271-5cqj6m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=642&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280361/original/file-20190620-171271-5cqj6m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=642&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An early version of the first web page.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://info.cern.ch/hypertext/WWW/TheProject.html">CERN/Screengrab</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This turning-on of a connection was not a “light in a darkened room” moment, in which we suddenly had access to the resources that are now so familiar to us.</p>
<p>But it was a crucial step, one of several developments maturing in parallel that created the technology that has so drastically transformed our society, commerce and daily lives. Within just a few years we were surfing the web and sending email from home.</p>
<h2>The technology develops</h2>
<p>The first of these developments was the internet itself, which was and is a cobbling-together of disparate networks around the globe. </p>
<p>Australia had several networks, ranging from the relatively open ACSNET (now called <a href="https://www.aarnet.edu.au/">AARNET</a>) created by computer science departments to connect universities to, at the other extreme, proprietary, secure networks operated by defence and industry.</p>
<p>When Melbourne opened that first link, it provided a bridge from ACSNET to the networks in the United States and from there to the rest of the world.</p>
<p>Just as important were developments in the underlying technology. At the time, the capacity of the networks was adequate - just. As the community of users rapidly grew, it sometimes seemed as though the internet might utterly break down.</p>
<p>By the mid-1990s <a href="https://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia/term/38401/bandwidth">bandwidth</a> (the volume of digital traffic that a network can carry) increased to an extent that earlier had seemed unimaginable. This provided the data transmission infrastructure the web would come to demand.</p>
<p>Another development was computing hardware. Computers were doubling in speed every 18 months, as <a href="https://www.cnet.com/news/moores-law-to-roll-on-for-another-decade/">had been predicted</a>. They also became much cheaper. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/280363/original/file-20190620-171183-11e7k1f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/280363/original/file-20190620-171183-11e7k1f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/280363/original/file-20190620-171183-11e7k1f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=560&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280363/original/file-20190620-171183-11e7k1f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=560&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280363/original/file-20190620-171183-11e7k1f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=560&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280363/original/file-20190620-171183-11e7k1f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=704&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280363/original/file-20190620-171183-11e7k1f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=704&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280363/original/file-20190620-171183-11e7k1f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=704&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A Macintosh desktop computer from 1985.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/befuddledsenses/4453362124/">Flickr/Luke Jones</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Computer disks were also growing in capacity, doubling in size every year or so. The yet-to-appear web would require disk space for storage of web pages, and compute capacity for running <a href="https://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia/term/51154/server">servers</a>, which are applications that provide a door into a computer, giving users remote access to data and software.</p>
<p>In the 1980s these had been scarce, expensive resources that would have been overwhelmed by even small volumes of web traffic. By the early 1990s growth in capacity could – just – accommodate the demand that suddenly appeared and homes were being connected, via dial-up at first.</p>
<p><audio preload="metadata" controls="controls" data-duration="36" data-image="" data-title="Dial-up internet connection" data-size="347600" data-source="SoundBible/ezwa" data-source-url="http://soundbible.com/136-Dial-Up-Modem.html" data-license="" data-license-url="">
<source src="https://cdn.theconversation.com/audio/1618/dial-up-modem-soundbible-com-909377495.mp3" type="audio/mpeg">
</audio>
<div class="audio-player-caption">
Dial-up internet connection.
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" rel="nofollow" href="http://soundbible.com/136-Dial-Up-Modem.html">SoundBible/ezwa</a><span class="download"><span>339 KB</span> <a target="_blank" href="https://cdn.theconversation.com/audio/1618/dial-up-modem-soundbible-com-909377495.mp3">(download)</a></span></span>
</div></p>
<h2>A new operating system</h2>
<p>But it is a third concurrent development that is, to me, the most remarkable. </p>
<p>This is the emergence of the <a href="https://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia/term/53459/unix">UNIX</a> operating system and of a community of people who collaboratively wrote UNIX-based code for free (yes, for no charge). Their work provided what is arguably the core of the systems that underpin the modern world.</p>
<p>UNIX was created by <a href="https://www.computerhistory.org/fellowawards/hall/dennis-ritchie/">Dennis Ritchie</a>, <a href="https://www.computerhistory.org/fellowawards/hall/ken-thompson/">Ken Thompson</a> and a small number of colleagues at AT&T Bell Labs, in the US, from 1970.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/280368/original/file-20190620-171208-1vpo7z4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/280368/original/file-20190620-171208-1vpo7z4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/280368/original/file-20190620-171208-1vpo7z4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=481&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280368/original/file-20190620-171208-1vpo7z4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=481&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280368/original/file-20190620-171208-1vpo7z4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=481&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280368/original/file-20190620-171208-1vpo7z4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=604&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280368/original/file-20190620-171208-1vpo7z4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=604&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280368/original/file-20190620-171208-1vpo7z4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=604&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Ken Thompson and Dennis Richie with DEC PDP-11 system running UNIX.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ken_Thompson_(sitting)_and_Dennis_Ritchie_at_PDP-11_(2876612463).jpg">Wikimedia/Peter Hamer</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>At that time, operating systems (like iOS on today’s Apple phones) were limited to a single type of computer. Code and programs could not be used across machines from different manufacturers.</p>
<p>UNIX, in contrast, could be used on any suitable machine. This is the reason UNIX variants continue to provide the core of Apple Mac computers, Android phones, systems such as inflight entertainment and smart TVs, and many billions of other devices.</p>
<h2>The open source movement</h2>
<p>Along with UNIX came a culture of collaborative code development by programmers. This was initially via sharing of programs sent on tape between institutions as parcels in the mail. Anyone with time to spare could create programs and share them with a community of like-minded users.</p>
<p>This became known as the open source movement. Many thousands of people helped develop software of a diversity and richness that was beyond the resources of any single organisation. And it was not driven by commercial or corporate needs.</p>
<p>Programs could embody speculative innovations, and any developer who was frustrated by errors or shortcomings in the tools they used could update or correct them.</p>
<p>A key piece of open source software was the <a href="https://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia/term/51154/server">server</a>, a computer system in a network shared by multiple users. Providing anonymous users with remote access was far from desirable for commercial computers of the era, on which use of costly computing time was tightly controlled.</p>
<p>But in an academic, sharing, open environment such servers were a valuable tool, at least for computer scientists, who were the main users of university computers in that era.</p>
<p>Another key piece of open source software was the <a href="https://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia/term/50637/router">router</a>, which allowed computers on a network to collaborate in directing network requests and responses between connected machines anywhere on the planet.</p>
<p>Servers had been used for email since the beginnings of the internet and initially it was email, delivered with the help of routers, that brought networked desktop computing into homes and businesses.</p>
<p>When the web was proposed, extending these servers to allow the information from web page servers to be sent to a user’s computer was a small step.</p>
<h2>What you looking at?</h2>
<p>The last component is so ubiquitous that we forget what is literally before our eyes: the screen. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/280381/original/file-20190620-171258-v5h79j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/280381/original/file-20190620-171258-v5h79j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/280381/original/file-20190620-171258-v5h79j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280381/original/file-20190620-171258-v5h79j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280381/original/file-20190620-171258-v5h79j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280381/original/file-20190620-171258-v5h79j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280381/original/file-20190620-171258-v5h79j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280381/original/file-20190620-171258-v5h79j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Macintosh Plus had a screen resolution of 512x342 pixels.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/raneko/13507827355/">Flickr/raneko</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Affordable computer displays in the 1980s were much too limited to pleasingly render a web page, with resolutions of 640x480 pixels or lower, with crude colours or just black and white. Better screens, starting at 1024x768, first became widely available in the early 1990s.</p>
<p>Only with the appearance of the <a href="http://www.ncsa.illinois.edu/enabling/mosaic">Mosaic browser</a> in 1993 did the web become appealing, with a pool of about 100 web sites showing how to deliver information in a way that for most users was new and remarkably compelling.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BLcBZ2_k1OI?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">How things have changed.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The online world continues to grow and develop with access today via cable, wireless and mobile handsets. We have internet-connected services in our homes, cars, health services, government, and much more. We live-stream our music and video, and share our lives online.</p>
<p>But the origin of that trend of increasing digitisation of our society lies in those simple beginnings - and the end is not yet in sight.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>This article was amended at the request of the author to correct the amount of data accessible from the initial link.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/118998/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Justin Zobel does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>In just three decades we’ve gone from a very limited internet connection in Australia to now sharing our lives online.Justin Zobel, Pro Vice-Chancellor, Graduate & International Research, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1151352019-04-10T02:08:47Z2019-04-10T02:08:47ZLabor will prioritise an NBN ‘digital inclusion drive’ – here’s what it should focus on<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/268500/original/file-20190410-2901-s8ixq7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">People with poor broadband services spend more time in queues at the bank and for other services that should easily be accessible online. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/march-6-2017-auckland-new-zealand-593951771?src=nFLlgVBNKLlA3hwiAAa8oQ-1-1">from www.shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The national broadband network (<a href="https://www.nbnco.com.au/">NBN</a>) has been a major issue in federal election campaigns for close to a decade. </p>
<p>And the 2019 version of the NBN bears little resemblance to the futuristic, egalitarian earlier editions. </p>
<p>Despite years of controversy, cost over-runs, and delays, the coalition government says our <a href="http://mitchfifield.com/Media/MediaReleases/tabid/70/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/1688/NBN-marks-10-years-On-track-for-2020-completion.aspx">$50 billion national network</a> is finally nearing completion. </p>
<p>But Labor’s Shadow Communications Minister Michelle Rowland has <a href="http://www.michellerowland.com.au/media_release_labor_s_plan_to_improve_the_nbn_9_april_2019">set out some different priorities</a> should her party achieve government in the coming election. One of these is a “digital inclusion drive”, aimed at improving access to the internet for older Australians and low-income households. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/three-charts-on-the-nbn-and-australias-digital-divide-78911">Three charts on: the NBN and Australia’s digital divide</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>In addition, Labor is making no immediate commitment to <a href="http://www.michellerowland.com.au/speech_address_to_commsday_summit_labor_s_responsible_plan_to_improve_the_nbn_9_april_2019">replacing copper connections with fibre</a>. </p>
<p>Instead, if elected, it will fund service and reliability fixes for those on the copper NBN, and impose service guarantees for small businesses and consumers. It will examine what has happened to the economics of the network, looking at its cash flow, pricing, capital structure, and future options for network upgrades. </p>
<p>Labor’s policy will disappoint those hoping for a fast-tracked return to <a href="http://ministers.treasury.gov.au/DisplayDocs.aspx?doc=pressreleases/2009/036.htm&pageID=003&min=wms&Year=&DocType">that party’s original (2009) vision</a> of high-speed fibre for (almost) everyone. But its 2019 plan is an important acknowledgement that network infrastructure is only one part of the NBN story. </p>
<h2>Affordability and digital inclusion</h2>
<p>The Australian Digital Inclusion Index (<a href="https://digitalinclusionindex.org.au/">ADII</a>) provides data on the affordability of internet services for Australians since 2014. It shows that recent, modest improvements seen by some households have been matched by declines in affordability for a number of Australia’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/digital-inclusion-in-tasmania-has-improved-in-line-with-nbn-rollout-will-the-other-states-follow-102257">more digitally excluded groups</a>. </p>
<p>The results for low-income households, single parents, people outside the labour force, Indigenous Australians, and people with a disability remain poor. </p>
<p>The good news for Australian consumers is that the <a href="https://www.accc.gov.au/publications/accc-telecommunications-report/accc-communications-market-report-2017-18">pricing of mobile services has improved</a>, reflecting competitive pressures and the reduced cost of delivery as a consequence of investment by network owners.</p>
<p>But when we look at fixed broadband services — the kinds of connections used by most households — recent price increases by NBN have led to a decline in the number of <a href="https://www.accc.gov.au/speech/nbn-affordability-a-growing-issue">low-cost plans on the market</a>. This change post-dates the most recent ADII report (2018), and the effects are beginning to work their way into the market.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/digital-inclusion-in-tasmania-has-improved-in-line-with-nbn-rollout-will-the-other-states-follow-102257">Digital inclusion in Tasmania has improved in line with NBN rollout – will the other states follow?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Communications costs matter</h2>
<p>Communications services have a knock-on effect in many other areas of life and work. </p>
<p>Access to high-speed broadband can reduce <a href="https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/au/Documents/finance/deloitte-au-fas-benefits-highspeed-broadband-v2-240914.pdf">the costs of using other services considerably</a>. This makes critical activities like banking, seeking government information, looking for work, or studying much easier. </p>
<p>But when we speak of the cost savings linked with online services, we need also to bear in mind the flip-side of those savings: the much higher costs borne by those, often less well-off, citizens who must access services offline. </p>
<p>If an individual on a low income lacks electronic access to banking or government information, the cost of commuting to do these things in person can be prohibitive — and especially so for Australians living in <a href="https://www.communications.gov.au/publications/2018-regional-telecommunications-review-getting-it-right-out-there">remote or regional areas</a>.</p>
<p>For children at school and adults in education or training, a lack of access to the internet means many will <a href="https://apo.org.au/node/221806">fall behind their peers</a>, as access to educational materials and online content becomes a core part of the modern education experience. This has implications for Australia’s ability to take advantage of the next wave of digital transformation. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australias-digital-divide-is-not-going-away-91834">Australia's digital divide is not going away</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Expensive for everyone</h2>
<p>The costs of inequitable internet access are directly felt by many families, but the broader costs are borne by society. </p>
<p>And so digital exclusion now has the potential to be a drag on Australia’s economic growth and productive potential for decades to come. </p>
<p>For individuals, conducting activities offline may be time-consuming and expensive. But that’s also true for the government. It’s estimated that even taking half of government services online would <a href="https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/au/Documents/Economics/deloitte-au-economics-digital-government-transformation-230715.pdf">save around A$20 billion</a>. </p>
<p>Aside from the costs of lower productivity, economic growth and tax receipts, inequitable access means that the material savings from automated services may never be realised. </p>
<p>Affordable access to broadband also supports the cost effective delivery of core government and other services – such as <a href="https://www.who.int/goe/policies/countries/aus__support_tele.pdf">health</a> – to regional and remote locations.</p>
<p>Although addressing inequitable access will involve costs in the short term, effective policy measures to improve affordability are likely to generate considerable national benefits.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/infographic-budget-2019-at-a-glance-114289">Infographic: Budget 2019 at a glance</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>How to improve affordability</h2>
<p>At this stage Labor is not saying what it might do to improve internet affordability for low-income households. </p>
<p>The idea of writing down the NBN has been <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/there-s-a-big-obstacle-to-an-nbn-write-down-and-it-s-in-the-billions-20190213-p50xhn.html">widely discussed</a>. It does, however, have serious implications: it will be very costly to taxpayers. </p>
<p>It will also limit the ability of the NBN to invest in future network upgrades and threaten the economics of uniform national pricing, the NBN’s key promise of equity for regional and remote Australia. </p>
<p>That could mean a return to the pre-NBN communications landscape, with regional and remote Australia relying on increasingly obsolete communications infrastructure while metropolitan Australia moves ahead. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/shorten-uses-budget-reply-speech-to-reframe-the-economic-debate-114607">Shorten uses budget reply speech to reframe the economic debate</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>A direct increase in cash payments is likely to improve living standards materially for those in poverty, but more money for low income households doesn’t necessarily mean that broadband will be within their reach. </p>
<p>The creation of a concession at a retail level would make the telecommunications companies responsible for selling products at a cheaper rate, which in an era of <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-02-14/telstra-profit-tumbles-as-nbn-continues-to-drain-revenue/10810552">reduced margins</a> appears unlikely to occur. </p>
<p>Also, a series of retail concessions can lead to consumer confusion, as the scope of each scheme and the discounts on offer vary wildly. We’ve seen these problems in the <a href="https://www.accc.gov.au/publications/restoring-electricity-affordability-australias-competitive-advantage">energy sector</a>. </p>
<p>Another option is to create a wholesale concession, a measure that has been promoted by <a href="http://accan.org.au/no-australian-left-offline">consumer advocates</a>. This would involve the government paying NBN to put a wholesale product into the market that retailers could purchase and retail to low income households. </p>
<p>A nationally uniform concessional service would allow retailers to compete in offering affordable services to low-income households, boost NBN take-up and consequently its revenue and financial viability.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/government-advertising-may-be-legal-but-its-corrupting-our-electoral-process-115061">Government advertising may be legal, but it's corrupting our electoral process</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Focus on inclusion</h2>
<p>While the introduction of a concessional arrangement would involve government picking up a part of the tab for service delivery, it offers sizeable benefits. </p>
<p>By ensuring NBN access for low-income households, the government avoids forgoing a large proportion of the savings that should accrued from the digital transformation of government services (and the benefits to be gained from improving services). </p>
<p>It would also prevent a lower take-up of NBN services and revenues. Without such an arrangement, questions will continue to be raised about the financial viability of NBN, its repayment of outstanding debt to government and whether there needs to be a write-down. </p>
<p>The take up of broadband has <a href="https://doi.org/10.1787/5k9bcwkg3hwf-en">historically seen improvements</a> in average household income, productivity, and the creation of new kinds of work and services. </p>
<p>In order to maximise the benefits of the current wave of digital change, we’ll need a broader public debate, that goes beyond the relative merits of fibre and 5G. </p>
<p>Policy will need to address the challenge of affordability, invest in digital literacy, and ensure that all Australians can access the services that they need. </p>
<p>While there are many improvements that can and should be made to our national network infrastructure, a focus on the larger problem of digital inclusion is both welcome, and overdue.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/115135/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Julian Thomas receives funding from Telstra for research on the Australian Digital Inclusion Index. He is a Board member of the Australian Communications Consumers Action Network. The author acknowledges the work of ACCAN and his collaborators in the Australian Digital Inclusion Index research team. However, the views expressed in this article are his own. </span></em></p>Labor’s 2019 NBN election policy will disappoint those hoping for a fast-tracked return to that party’s 2009 vision of high-speed fibre for (almost) everyone.Julian Thomas, Professor of Media and Communications; Director, Social Change Enabling Capability Platform, RMIT UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.