Archive: Opinions

Last time the County initiated a county-wide Internet initiative it was helpful in filling in some of the unserved areas, but the WiFi solution was somewhat limited.  And it was disappointing to some residents who had high hopes of finally getting high speed Internet only to find that they couldn't.  I remember talking to a Lansing teacher about his woes in getting a signal that would work, not to mention his depressing attempts to get Spectrum to cover his area without requiring him to spend thousands of dollars to get it to his house.

In my opinion he is one of Lansing's very best teachers, and the thought of someone like that not having decent Internet access was really depressing to me (you can imagine how he felt!).  That was eight years ago, and things haven't gotten substantially better.  I haven't talked to this teacher since COVID-19 hit, but how did he cope with remote teaching?  Not just remote teaching, but remote teaching that was thrust upon teachers with no advanced notice?  That underscores the notion that high speed Internet is a utility that is just as vital to modern life as electricity and water.

This comes at a time when the new iPhone 12 has just been announced, and one of the selling points Apple is trumpeting is 'lighting fast 5G' Internet connectivity.  Anyone with half a brain understands that wireless Internet, no matter how good it is, is not going to be the same as a fiber cable connection.  But it is certainly going to be a boon for people in those unserved spots.  Oh wait a minute... that is IF they get really good cell service and IF 5G is available where they live.

Now the County wants to spend close to $100,000 to identify spots that don't have Internet.  Didn't the committee do that eight years ago?  And that was supposed to solve the problem.  OK, maybe there are fewer unserved spots now because of the earlier program, but I'll bet if the county spent a few bucks on a radio ad, newspaper ads, and social media appeals to have people contact them if they don't have decent Internet they could get as good a result for less money, which could then be spent on a comprehensive and effective project to actually bring high speed Internet to the folks who can't get it.  They know who they are, and in my experience they have been quite vocal about it.

Meanwhile the little ol' Town of Lansing is also studying the problem in a process that town council members are anxious to expedite.  At the same time the organization formerly known as TCAD (they changed their name this week from Tompkins County Area Development to Ithaca Area Economic Development, or IAED -- pronouncing that is much harder than TCAD.  It'll take some getting used to!) announced that a 17 mile fiber Internet trunk cable has been funded that will connect the site of the upcoming data center (or, if you will, the site of the now-closed power plant) to high capacity, high speed Internet.  And IAED officials said people along the way may also be served along the route of the trunk line.

I am assuming they mean that if a third party comes along that wants to serve the so-called 'last mile' by hooking up local cables to the trunk line.  The question is, what will that cost?

But here is another question... what will that cost if the new 'last mile' is a municipal service rather than a commercial service like Spectrum?  Some legislators are talking about that possibility, and it could be a boon to folks who have no service now, or who want to switch to a municipal service if it becomes available.

Eight years ago I thought they were talking about a municipal service, but it turned out to be a sort of subsidized build-out of a local Internet provider.  Not that that's a bad thing, but sometimes governments can do things more economically for their residents, and the talk now seems to be that could be a solution.

For my teacher friend, I certainly hope it is.  A lot of organizations including schools and governments are finding that the online solutions that they were forced to adapt to are actually really good ways to reach their constituancies and many are talking about retaining these online services after COVID blows over, which I hope will be soon! 

Here are some examples: We got to be part of a wedding over the Internet.  The only bummer was we couldn't taste the cake.  We couldn't make it to my Father-in-law's 90th birthday party in Minnesota, but we did make it because it was on Zoom.  My kids in Florida and North Carolina were there, too.  We also attended my counsin's memorial service on Zoom with over 100 other people who loved and miss her.  Her kids live in Washington State, Texas, and Massachusetts.  And France.  So it was pretty special that they all, and her grandchildren and friends and family from all over could share our rememberance of this truly remarkable woman.

And lest I forget what the Car Talk hosts would call the 'Department of Shameless Promotion'... you wouldn't be reading the Lansing Star without the Internet.

So post-COVID isn't going to make Internet any less crucial than it is now.

People my age remember when the 2000s seemed far into the future, and by that time we'd all be driving hover cars and have robot maids like the Jetsons,   We're not there yet, but we should be farther along when it comes to Internet access.

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