Internet Access in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan

Internet Access in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan

                It seems now a day that the internet is a need for social and educational purposes, but what happens when one is denied access to it? It may seem like a shock, but there are still places in Continental America where internet access is denied, because of remote locations. The Upper Peninsula is one of these areas. There are many areas that are denied conventional ways of obtaining internet access, because it is far too expensive to run cable lines out to these areas. This causes many of the residents to be unable to be able to access many services while being at home. This is a problem for various reasons and should be solved as quickly as possible.

                The use of the internet nationally has been growing at a fast rate along with usage of cell phones. 63% of Americans have broadband service. This number includes people who do not wish to have internet, or simply cannot have the internet, because of distance, money, etc. It is something many people prioritize. About 84% of broadband users said that high-speed is important to them for: knowing what is going on in their community, communicating with health care providers, contributing to economic growth, or sharing their views on key issues. With so many reasons to have the internet it is not surprising that access has been growing. It has almost become essential to have in daily life.

There is a large amount of residents in the Upper Peninsula do not have internet access and it seems, unlike the nation, it is access is not growing quite as fast. There are 20,229 households in the Upper Peninsula who have no access to the internet. Even more that cannot afford internet, because of the great cost to obtain it in their area. The large gap between internet accesses in the Lower Peninsula vs. the Upper Peninsula is quite astounding. The gap for DSL, cable, and mobile is almost 20%, while fixed wireless is at about 3% and fiber at less than 1%. This is not okay. Some counties in the Upper Peninsula have only 55% of their residents who have access to the internet. No county has above a 92% of its residents who have access to the internet. There are even some counties that have no access to fixed wireless internet or cable internet. The amount of mobile internet in some counties can be as low as 22%.

One of the biggest reasons why this is not okay is, because research shows that use of the internet helps the brain. The research has shown that there are many benefits to having access to the internet. When searching the internet for information it causes the brain to do complex activity. This exercise of the brain has been known to help improve brain function and reduce the effects of aging on the brain. Research has even proved that searching the internet is more effective to keeping the brain working, even more than reading. When this is considered access to the internet is not only essential to knowing what is happening around the world, social connections and information finding, but also to cognitive development throughout life and help maintain brain health.

The cognitive development with students specifically relies on the use of the internet and computers. Computer literacy goes hand in hand with internet literacy. To be computer literate you need to be internet literate and vice versa. Schools have been trying to develop these literacies, because they result in higher standardized test scores. It can help students catch up in various subjects. This also helps combine the student’s cultural literacy with the school literacy, because computers can be used for the use of creative, inquiry based projects. This makes it important for students to have the internet at home. How can they work on these projects if they do not have the internet? How can they research and explore in a new age way? How can students excel without the internet?

A solution to this is to invest more money in expanding satellite internet and also to find a way to make satellite internet more affordable. This type of internet can be reached in the most remote locations, even in places where there are no phone lines, because it relies on space and not on cable lines. It is even possible to access the internet through satellites when travel across the world. Of course this still needs to be developed more. Satellite internet is not as fast as DSL or cable, but it can be faster than dial-up. It can also be fairly unreliable, because weather can interfere with access. Latency is also experienced when using satellite internet, so many providers do not encourage playing time sensitive games. It is able to support video games.

It has become essential to have the internet in this high tech world. Access has been growing at a fast rate, but the Upper Peninsula of Michigan still does not have internet access throughout the area. It has been seen that the growth of access is going at an extremely slow rate. The Upper Peninsula has an extremely low access to the internet compared to the rest of the state. With the cognitive benefits of the internet it has to be a priority to have in the home. It is not only good for students to have internet for their cognitive development, but for everyone to have internet access for their brain health and cognitive development. Satellite internet can solve this problem, once there is research to make it more reliable, affordable and faster. With those improvements internet access can finally be had by all of the Upper Peninsula and the rest of the world as well.

Work Cited

"BBC NEWS | Health | Internet use 'good for the brain'." BBC News - Home. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Oct. 2012. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7667610.stm>.

"Broadband in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan." Connect Michigan. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Oct. 2012. <www.connectmi.org/sites/default/files/connected-nation/Michigan/miupbroadbandbriefingdocument_final.pdf>.

Horrigan, John. "Summary of Findings | Pew Internet & American Life Project." Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Oct. 2012. <http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2009/10-Home-Broadband-Adoption-2009/1-Summary-of-findings.aspx>.

McGrath, Jane. "HowStuffWorks "Introduction to Satellite Internet Receivers"." HowStuffWorks "Electronics". N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Oct. 2012. <http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/gadgets/travel/satellite-internet-receivers.htm>.

Williams, Kate. "Literacy and Computer Literacy: Analyzing the NRC’s “Being Fluent with Information Technology”." Literacy and Technology. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Oct. 2012. <www.literacyandtechnology.org/volume3/literacy.pdf>.