Re: [TUHS] Cole's Slaw

[Jon Steinhart <jon@fourwinds.com>]

John Cowan writes:
>
> That certainly worked for closing the Digital Divide.  Some suggested
> > allocating billions in tax dollars to subsidize the un-networked in the
> > 1990s and 2000's.  Instead we mostly just waited a few years.
> > Semiconductor economics plus consumer behavior (demand rises very
> > quickly as prices drop, which provides economies of scale) solve most of
> > the problem for you.
> >
>
> Not quite yet.  As of 2018, which is the latest data I can find, only 73%
> of U.S. households have 10 Mbps download speed or better, and only 46% have
> 100 Mbps service or better.  If you look at the lowest quartile of
> household incomes, the figures are 33% and 18% respectively.  (You want
> adoption figures, not deployment figures.)  Wiring up the whole country is
> fine, but if people won't or can't use it, it does little good.

This is not a really TUHS topic.  As one of those people who does not have
decent internet service and am still waiting I'd be happy to see some money
spent to broaden availability.  This is not being a matter of waiting years,
it's a matter of waiting decades so far.  Access is an equity issue as it's
essential for everything from participating in government, schooling, and
almost every other aspect of life today.  Maybe people with good service are
willing to have everyone else wait but IMHO society isn't well served that way.

Jon