Besides the issue of speed, access is also a big issue. The New York Times points to data that says over 70 percent of South San Antonio residents don’t have access to the Internet at home. As schools and other public institutions increasingly move their work online, those without will be left behind.
So, how can we improve Internet access and speeds? Well, it’s certainly easier said than done. The U.S. is a large nation and most of its metropolitan infrastructures were put in place before the rise of broadband Internet. Such a scenario makes it hard to convince ISPs to invest in all new infrastructure when what’s already there is good enough for what they offer.
To help the American Internet better compete with the world, Susan Crawford, a law professor at Yeshiva University, argues that we have to completely rethink how we classify the Internet. Since its inception, the Internet has gone from a luxury to a commodity. From there, it can only evolve into a utility and it needs to do that before it becomes accessible enough to make a difference.