Why isn’t Wi-Fi widespread?
By Megan H. S.
As I was browsing Facebook one day, I saw an article a cousin from Anniston, AL had posted. In her extremely small, generally not well-off town, their public school system was part of a pilot program lending ALL 4th to 12th graders laptops and giving free Wi-Fi access at their homes for them. "Really?" I thought. I mean, I live right outside Metro Atlanta, in a solidly middle-class to upper middle-class town, and there is not any Wi-Fi hardly anywhere. Trust me; I have looked. You see, I have an old school slider phone with no web plan, but a great laptop with a wireless modem, and an IPod Touch.
I need Wi-Fi to carry on daily life and business. Granted, some restaurants have it, and the local public library has it, when they are open. Thanks to budget cuts, the libraries in my county "share" hours, i.e. these two libraries are close so one is open and the other closed, and vice versa. I am not home during the local hours to go there, and when I am, I just as well travel 3 miles to my home, where I have wireless Internet. I have heard rumors Metro Atlanta was going to offer free Wi-Fi access, but it was just an ad for a wireless Internet plan, so not free.
I need free Wi-Fi, because the cheapest local wireless plan is around $35 a month. Being a recent college graduate, I live at home with my parents, and do not have that much disposable income for something that used to be classified as a luxury. However, now, as a job seeker looking to move up in the world, I depend on e-mail, social media, and Pandora to get through the day. It is imperative I have instant access to my e-mail and job-seeking websites to quickly follow job leads.
I know my story is not unique. In this new, changing economy, who has the disposable income to have a smart-phone? Even my peers who have smart phones say their Internet is extremely slow and unreliable, unless in a Wi-Fi hotspot. The phone lines just do not cut it in this fast-paced world we live in today. Smart phones are too expensive for some people. In addition, some people, like my parents, do not like touch screens so most smart phones are out of the question. Not to mention, the data plans for the phones are outrageous for the use they would get.
While traveling one day with my mother, we passed through a small town that offered free Wi-Fi in the downtown area. It was great. You see, this is what I talking about. I am sure more younger people would work out in parks and such if they could stay “connected.” I understand the expense it could incur for the city, but in the long haul, I think it would work out better. What are your views on this?
No comments:
Post a Comment