April 16, 2004
Ramifications of a Ubiquitous Internet
Because of new technologies like Broadband over Power Lines, WiMAX, and other innovations on the horizon, high-speed access to the Internet will soon be almost completely ubiquitous in developed countries.
By "soon," I mean possibly by the end of the decade. By "almost completely ubiquitous," I mean that there will still be gaps; the Badlands of South Dakota, Death Valley, some summits in the Alps, perhaps all of Alabama (I kid, I kid) may not be covered.
What are the ramifications of this? If access to the Internet is truly as omnipresent as, say, electricity, if not moreso, what does this do to the price of access? Obviously, it should drive it down...way down. At that point, using the Internet won't ever require an "is it worth it" evaluation, much like electricty is today (assuming you don't live off the grid) and much like how home broadband users slurp up bandwidth without a second thought today.
Another ramification of truly ubiquitous, fast Internet connections is that nearly everything involving electronics -- cars, refrigerators, traffic lights, HVAC units, car stereos -- will somehow use, access, or rely on the Internet for some part of its functionality. In addition, many things that don't today involve much (if any) electronics, such as running shoes, bicycles, a gallon of milk, street signs, shopping carts, etc., will start to in order to enhance their functionality.
Based on this, my prediction for the next two buzzwords that marketers will start to over-use and abuse when describing or naming their products will be "connected" and "smart." We've already seen the rise of "the connected organizer" from Palm, and we've been so far subjected to smartcards and smartmobs, but these are just the tip of the marketing iceberg.
So, what would you do with truly omnipresent broadband Internet access?
Posted by Craig | Permalink | TrackBackI'm not sure where Craig lives, but I read this column, as I normally do, via high a high speed cable connection. In this part of Alabama (LA),
a nice house can be had for $150 K. That leaves a lot more disposable income to buys toys, like computers, PDA's, and yes high speed internet access.Yes Craig, Alabama is well connected already. Why not pick on West Virginia? Maybe you could mention that they might use broadband connections to speed incestuous hookups!
Mike, the phrase "I kid, I kid" was intended to imply that I do not truly believe Alabama to be devoid of high-speed Internet access. I apologize if that was not clear.
Perhaps I should put the following warning on this website's header: Caution: This website contains sarcasm.
And, to be fair, you are correct, Mike. Singling out Alabama is unfair. According to a report by the Pew Internet & American Life Project, the entire South (including West Virgina, like you mentioned) is generally unconnected when it comes to the Internet:
"The South (Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, and West Virginia) has the lowest rate of Internet access of any region in the United States and is the only region with fewer than half of adults online (48% of Southern adults used the Internet as of 2002)."
http://www.pewinternet.org/reports/reports.asp?Report=98&Section=ReportLevel2&Field=Level2ID&ID=762
Posted by Craig at April 18, 2004 09:42 AMI didn't take it personal and I don't really have anything against West Virginia either. I was just making a point that many people outside of this area of the country have misconceptions about us. I admit I have not consulted a report to back up my assertions. I do know that relatives I have in the Northwest seem to live in conditions considered backward around here. I don't want too many people to move here, so maybe they should keep on holding us up as being backwards.
By the way, I do enjoy your work.
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