The wonderful world of technology to evolving and revolving – all at the same time and changing the way we live and work and relax!
Marshall McLuhan said “We shape our tools and then they shape us.” The way the tool of the Internet is shaping us is absolutely fascinating and I’m thinking absolutely profound in technical terms but also in socio-cultural terms.
In social terms we have newspapers are struggling to find a sustainable business model in the face of growing internet competition as a news and information source. Television no longer has the dominant grasp of our eyeballs because we are using more on-line viewing of programs. We now have a box of technology that will provide free internet based television that will be challenge the viability of the subscriber based cable companies. The box has the support of the major program producers to boot.
iTunes with MP3 players like iPods has found a successful business model to make money from music and are now the largest vendors of music on the planet. The e-book is an emerging challenge to traditional book publishing and the new Kindle reader from Amazon may be the tech breakthrough needed to make this finally happen.
The social media explosion of Facebook, Twitter and other such sites, where people “meet” and make sense of their world, has happened. It represents a fundamental culture shift that has happened around the globe and virtually (sic) overnight. The move from text based e-mail applications to social media methods and beyond that include YouTube video being uploaded at the rate of about 10,000 a day shows how the internet has changed the cultural context of the web.
One of the next big economic enablers from the changing internet is going to be from the declining cost of videoconferencing equipment and the increasing ease of use. There is a technological breakthrough that dramatically reduces the bandwidth needs so it can now use telephone lines instead of cable or expensive fibre optics. This will be a ubiquitous and cost effective way to get anyone with an old-fashioned phone line into the front lines of internet capacity and connectivity.
Rural communities in Alberta are no longer isolated by time and distance and their sustained economic viability is now more about their imaginations than the traditional limitations. Remote First Nations are now into videoconferencing. Other communities are restructuring relationship internally and externally to lever the opportunities for enhanced internet links for SuperNet access. Others are getting grants andlooking at the feasibility of providing optical fibre connections direct to all homes and businesses in an entire community.
Still others are taking advantage of CRTC regulatory procedures to seek a requirement to enable use of existing land line telephone services. This access, if approved, will provide for competitive services for internet, VOIP and even high definition videoconferencing all over the province with no additional physical infrastructure requirements or other costs to taxpayers or users.
This copper wire connectivity will also enable Albertans to link at fibre quality to the SuperNet fibre optic network that is all over the province too. This old-fashioned copper wire connectivity will ironically make that $B investment in the SuperNet pays off through personal, community and business access for anyone in the province who wants to use it.
The internet is definitely a tool that we shaped and it is dramatically reshaping us - and there is every indication that it will continue to do so for some time to come. Fascinating times.
A well-thought out & well-written article, Ken. Your advocacy of the Alberta SuperNet will prove to be visionary when the service is considered run of the mill. Excellent insight!
ReplyDeleteI agree with all your points Ken but I need to put a caveat on the whole thing because I'm guessing you live smack dab in an urban area.
ReplyDeleteYes Supernet is bringing Internet closer by getting into towns and doing an excellent job. However that is more or less where ends.
I'm only 110km out of Calgary which doesn't exactly put me in a remote area but high speed is a dream. Whether it is fibre optic or copper, nothing hard wired is going to make the final journey to my ranch or to the neighours'. Two-way satellite at the top package speeds is very expensive and still makes even iTunes problematic on a bad day. YouTube? Yikes! Many people still use dial-up!
Sure social media has huge potential as do many other online tools but many, many rural dwellers will give you a pretty odd look if you say you 'twitter'. To borrow the current overused phrase "they're just not into it".
Meanwhile more government services move onto the Internet and even Cattle Identification requires good Internet access which many rancher don't and won't have in the foreseeable future.
Rural populations are big and while a town of a few hundred may seem rural to urban thinkers it is still on the fringe of real rural life. That's a whole new ball game that requires some deeper thinking to get across a genuine digital divide.
Morning Mike - your point is well founded. Copper wire has a limitation reach of a 4km radius. That means it is a solution best focused on small towns. It will not reach farms and ranches that are "out of town." That means wireless or satellite are the best solutions and they are EXPENSIVE.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the post. I have lived in isolated communities in Alberta for many years. The supernet cable is laid 15 meters from my front door. Yes, wireless and satellite are very expensive. I posed this question to MLA Frank Oberle, Peace River. He forwarded my letter to Heather Klimchuk
ReplyDeleteMinister of Service Alberta. Ms Klimchuk response was as follows. "My colleague, Honourable Frank Oberle, MLA Peace River, forwarded your recent correspondence regarding high-speed internet availability in the Paddle Prairie area. As Minister of Service Alberta, responsible for Alberta SuperNet, I am pleased to respond.I understand rural Albertans want access to high-speed Internet service at affordable rates. My staff researched this matter and confirmed average pricing for wireless high-speed Internet service in rural areas ranges between $50 per month to over $200 per month, depending on bandwidth selected. In urban, more densely populated areas, some providers do offer promotional rates for new customers, but they often require a commitment to a long-term contract, and after an introductory period concludes, the cost will climb. To address the rural affordability challenge, Service Alberta is working closely with the Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties, the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association, the Federation of Alberta Gas Co-ops, Axia SuperNet Ltd. and a variety of Internet Service Providers to identify solutions to serve rural and remote locations across the province. In the meantime, the Alberta government’s commitment to the availability of reliable and reasonably priced broadband services is evidenced by programs such as Agriculture and Rural Development’s “Rural Connections: Community Broadband Infrastructure Pilot Program.” This program provides funding for rural community projects that enable access to high-speed broadband services. In addition to provincial programs, the federal government’s grant program “Broadband Canada: Connecting Rural Canadians,” is providing $225 million over three years to help fund broadband internet access to rural areas. A final decision on how these funds will be dispersed is anticipated before the end of March 2010. As you are aware, SuperNet is a government high-capacity broadband network connecting public sector facilities in communities across Alberta. The SuperNet model was designed such that it relies on private Internet Service Providers, like SIS Strategic Information Systems Inc. operating in the Paddle Prairie area, to set up and connect to SuperNet and then deliver high-speed internet services. Private Internet Service Providers set their pricing structures based on their ability to offer services, recover their costs and make a profit they consider reasonable.I appreciate your taking the time to write and I hope you find this information helpful. Best Regards, Heather Klimchuk Minister
My response to Ms Klimchuk’s letter is, "Why did you not answer my question? Why do rural Albertan have to pay more when the technology is right at our front door? We, as rural Albertans, understand that sign up costs are lower initially, but I would like the opportunity at least to have the choice of high speed. Also, if the federal government ever gets back to work will they implement the federal government’s grant program. And I have never heard of the provincial program " Rural Connections”
High Speed could have been available to most of Alberta if there had been more thought about how the billions of dollars laying the Supernet Cable was actually spent. Alberta Government could have partnered with Bell or Telus in technology and perhaps make a few dollars on their billion dollar expenditure. Jaye
The Alberta SuperNet cost $295 Million no Billions and yes, reaching to rural communities to have comparable rates to the urban communities is a challenge -- but -- now that Bell and Telus are working towards delivering services to these areas. I do agree that the Minister has a rather long winded response to you. Not really appropriate.
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