I’m quoted today in an EdTech article “Satellite Broadband Brings Internet Connectivity to Remote Locations” that explores how low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite systems could potentially help connect the unconnected and close the digital divide. A key question I raised was … will these systems actually be *affordable* to the people that need them most. I think there is great potential, but also great challenges.
#InternetAccess #Starlink #LEOs #satellite #Internet #OneWeb
@danyork
If the costs of one earth station are split among many people, internet café style, or as done by local WISPs, there's every likelihood that it is affordable. Or if it's paid for by the state, like CFE-TEIT are doing. It's not really a problem.
The problem is probably going to be more in, as is alluded to in the article, the actual cost (in so many ways) of keeping these LEO systems running.
To me the bigger challenge in closing the so called digital divide, is actually making the digital relevant to the life of the "unconnected".
@danyork
I'm all the time more convinced that the solution to the "digital divide" involves decentralisation and bringing the digital content closer to those who use it - both geographically and culturally - But that flies in the face of the up-to-now extractive business model of the entire internet, so I wouldn't expect ISOC to be thinking about that either, (yet) ?
@keith Oh, we absolutely believe in decentralization of infrastructure as a way to increase the Internet’s resilience, keep content local, and even increase speed of access. One of our big bits of work now is increasing the number of #Internet Exchange Points (#IXPs ) - https://www.internetsociety.org/action-plan/sustainable-peering-infrastructure/
We’re also trying to help foster more local #CommunityNetworks so that people are in control of their own infrastructure: https://www.internetsociety.org/action-plan/community-networks/
We want to see more Internet !
@danyork
More #IXPs is great! Bring it on! In the amercias south of the US border this situation is not good.
I've sort of lost patience with the #communitynetworks narrative. The only place from where I can approach that conversation now, is one that firmly places the #internet as a corporate/telco $$$ and state #propaganda (think hollywood x 1000) project. From there we can actually talk about why that happened and how to combat it. Otherwise, you're just bringing clients to fcbck,
@keith I guess we will have to agree to disagree on that last part. Sure, community networks bring people to Facebook, Google, YouTube, etc., but they also bring people to all the online courses offered by people all over the world. And they bring people to Mastodon and the Fediverse… and to local websites created by people (subject, yes, to whether they can afford the hosting charges). And they allow people to bring people back to their own local content.
@danyork
I think we can agree on the vision, the goals, the dream maybe, but In my experience, and this makes me very sad, but almost nobody in the ACTUAL real-world communities I work with has ever asked for fediverse, local content, etc. whatsapp is the main thing.
I did a presentation on fediverse, almost nobody came, I setup a mastodon server, nobody signed up. I setup nextcloud but our own #communitynetworks promoting sister orgas continue on gmail and 💩 gle docs. It's all talk.
@keith Good! Don’t give up! The world needs people like you out doing what you are doing! 🙂
But a lot of what you say comes back to just basic marketing and awareness. People already know about Google and Facebook & <other big sites>. They have friends & family using them. They hear about TikTok. They want to buy from Amazon.
They do NOT know about Mastodon, Fediverse, etc.
And part of that is that we have to help them understand value. Part of it also needing more people here.