Access to the internet is now a basic human right according to a 2016 report by the United Nations as it allows people to express their opinions with freedom. When we watch the news and the updates on fiber and 5G it appears like not only is the whole world now connected but at increasingly fast speeds. However, some communities are being left behind. Rural internet is still far behind urban environments and in the modern age, it is unacceptable.
While countries around the world continue to invest in 5G and fiber rural areas continue to rely on wireless and satellite internet. While there are improvements being made in both areas, rural areas continue to lag behind. A number of years ago many rural areas were still on dial-up internet. A famous example of one man trying to upload a video to Youtube while at the same time attaching an SD card to a pigeon to send the video somewhere was a classic example of how poor the internet was. After three hours the short video had only reached 60%. This was the dark ages of the internet and while we have improved leaps and bounds a large gap still exists.
Today in urban environments many countries offer 1 gig speeds with unlimited data. Mobile internet is becoming increasingly sophisticated with 5G rollouts taking place across the world. Yet rural communities are far behind. The cost to serve a rural household is so much more than an urban household that it doesn’t make economic sense. When it didn’t make economic sense for the postman to deliver post to rural communities it was still done. Today the internet is so important that it must be provided. The government should step in and ensure that all rural communities have high-speed access to the internet.
While people in rural areas have as much a right to Netflix and chill as those in cities, it is more important than that. The internet is a place to launch a business, to communicate with family, to understand world affairs, to protest, to celebrate. It is a human right and too many people are being denied it simply because of where they live.