Internet Access
Internet Access
I don’t know what Internet access is like where you live, or even where you live, but I come from the UK and live in northern Thailand. Internet access has come on in leaps and bounds since I first moved to this remote rice-growing village ten years ago.
In those days, I had to have my own satellite dish to connect to IPstar and for $100 p/m, I got 512/128. The state telecoms company was providing better speeds, but the twelve phone lines into the village were already taken.
About five years ago, many more lines were installed, and I switched. It suddenly became 7MB/256. Now it is 12MB/256.
I can live with that as it will do whatever I need.
Now comes the interesting bit.
Many areas of Thailand have free Wi-Fi.
I am sure that you already know that Thailand is not a rich European power or a superpower like the US and Russia, but two years ago, I was in a provincial city, waiting for a bus, and my Wi-Fi kicked in. The shopkeeper told me proudly that the city provided free Wi-Fi, although connections were broken every twenty minutes.
Brilliant!
Two weeks ago, while working on a letter like this to you, a new Wi-Fi connection was announcing itself.
Now, our village is tiny and remote, but the administrative centre for the ten villages around ours has put on a free signal for email and ‘uncomplicated Internet tasks’.
That means that you can look at a website, but not dig deeper. However, most people here only want email, ant that is now free.
It has meant that hundreds of people have been able to cancel their Wi-Fi connection, saving them $20 p/m or two days wages.
How does that compare with your local authority?
I cannot speak for my home town in South Wales, as I haven’t been there for three years, but I am proud of this and hope that other local authorities around the world follow suit.
Please LIKE and SHARE this article using the buttons below and visit our bookshop
All the best,
Podcast: Internet Access
