Benefits of Public Internet Access

From the dawn of civilization, every society has wrestled with the power dynamics between the public domain and private enterprise. Which utilities/industries should be left for the private sector, and which should be controlled by public institutions.

There are very few societies that lean toward the private sector or the public domain exclusively; most economies feature a mixture.

As the internet continues to grow, so does our society’s dependence on it. If video killed the radio star, internet killed the video star. And *much* more than that. Indeed, many businesses have significantly transformed their respective models so that they are more competitive in the online space, rather than the real-world space.

Given this rapid ascension to the digital space, the conversation about whether the internet should be a private enterprise or a public utility is growing with it.

There are sound arguments for both sides. However, two recent studies came to the conclusion that the internet should be adopted as a public utility. Here were some of the rationales from those studies.

The Methodology

Before detailing the conclusions, it’s important to highlight how these studies were conducted.

First, there was the study done by the Technology & Social Change Group at the University of Washington Information School. Their research was done over the course of five years, and there were participants in eight different countries. The eight countries were carefully selected to represent different stages of economic development, as the main purpose of the study was to figure out how public access to the internet may benefit marginalized, impoverished communities.

Then there is the Global Impact Study of Public Access to Information & Communication Technologies. This study was primarily conducted by Canada’s International Development Research Centre, thanks in large part to a grant provided by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. They surveyed approximately 5,000 users in settings like cybercafes and libraries, along with 2,000 others from a home setting. The intent of the study was to detect patterns of public internet use.

The Findings

So what did both of these studies conclude? They both reached similar results.

They found that approximately? of the citizens in those countries used public venues for internet access on a regular basis. That’s a fairly significant percentage.

What was even more significant were the skills the survey respondents cultivated. 40% of those surveyed claimed that access to public internet venues was instrumental to the enhancement of their respective computer skills. And approximately half of the same respondents said that their internet literacy improved as well.

Since some of the countries that were surveyed in the study were developing countries, researchers were keen to know if public venues dedicated to internet use were a convenience or a necessity. According to nearly half of the respondents, they said their internet usage would decrease if such venues disappeared.

The Recommendations

So with all of that data in mind, one has to ask what it all means.

The chief researchers attached to both studies came away with similar recommendations. Mainly, they both agree that public internet access is essential for economic development, given that this is the digital age.

Of course, construction of such venues could be a substantial financial burden for poorer countries. That is why researchers suggested using existing infrastructure--libraries, government offices--as public internet access venues.

Most importantly, the researchers concluded that it is crucial to include these venues into public initiatives, as a way of incentivizing use. That it is beneficial to everyone if these venues are used for training for fields in health services, education, and more.

Conclusion

The internet has been instrumental for many societies and cultures as they build up their economic infrastructures. The way to keep this trend moving forward is to make internet access as widely available as possible. Not only internet access; but mobile phone with internet access as well, such as att internet deals. And according to this recent research, the creation of more public venues will be fundamental going forward.

Henry Albert is one of the well known creative article writer and content marketer and he is offering services for the last six years.