There’s been a lot of talk about internet access in the UK recently. Labour opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn announced that if his party won the December election, they would provide free, fast broadband. This would be funded by taxing giants such as Amazon, Google and Facebook. More than 5 million people have either not gone online in the last 3 months or have never used the internet in the UK, according to the Office for National Statistics. 10% don’t have home access.
Of course, the plan has its detractors: it seems that many commentators have been getting all iron-curtain on the idea. some have labelled the move ‘broadband communism’, and the current U.K. PM Brois Johnson has responded that the move is a ‘crazed communist scheme.’ That said, there’s no doubt that access to the internet is becoming more and more imperative to survival in the modern world. Statistica estimates that a mere 4.3 billion people were active internet users as of July 2019. That leaves 44% of the global population out in the cold.
Seeing as most jobs in the developed world rely on internet access, this is a massive number, one that curtails development in many countries. According to the ITU (International Telecommunication Union), in industrialised states, as much as 94% of citizens have internet access. In developing nations, this is around 64%. Much of this is accessed via mobile phone – high-volume home access is much lower (in some countries, like the Philippines, Facebook is free – with the bulk of traffic in this country related to use of the site).
The issue has attracted much academic inquiry – The University of Birmingham released a report last week that favours universal internet access:
Free Internet access must be considered as a human right, as people unable to get online — particularly in developing countries — lack meaningful ways to influence the global players shaping their everyday lives, according to a new study.’
A lack of solid internet access also affects education opportunities. On November 10, a post on Twitter went viral, an image of a boy using the internet on a tablet in a computer store to complete his homework:
Libraries believe in providing free internet. But opening hours often create problems. In the U.K. and beyond, some branches closed as part of austerity measures following the financial crisis have yet to be reopened, and others have curtailed their hours. There can also be issues with availability of workstations, laptops and tablets. Additionally, some schools do not have their own libraries, and bus timetables do not facilitate hanging around after class to complete assignments, especially if the child has a long commute.
There are some municipalities who have begun to address this issue, however. Cities and towns across the world have begun to provide free internet access across their centres, from San Francisco to Tel Aviv, Perth to Bangalore. This lowers prices, creates competition, and provides economic benefit. It also has important social benefits for the very neediest of people – in some locations, access to the internet allows the homeless population to access life-saving resources.
With an ever-increasing amount of schools, workplaces and social services relying on internet access, this problem is only going to get more pressing. It’s up to us to pressure our politicians, speak out online, and vote with our feet – if available, use your local free internet, provide feedback to libraries praising the service, and raise awareness of the issue across your networks. Like access to decent healthcare and education, access to information should be considered a basic human right, and we can’t reach our full potential as a society without it.
Resources
Free Internet Access by The Free Site – a list of links of global free internet access
How to Get Free WiFi Anywhere by Netspot – some great tips here
WiFi Map: Get Free WiFi, VPN 4+ – on Apple
Free WiFi by Wimin – 60 million+ free hotspots worldwide
Library Thoughts 