[Air-l] network neutrality and digital divide

[Gail Taylor]

Discriminatory practices are implicit to the conversation on 
network neutrality. As opposed to only being concerned about 
the network providers, current practices of organizations and 
individuals should also be taken into consideration. These 
practices are also drivers of the current movement to 
regulate Internet activities.

As an Internet researcher, I continue to use a dial-up 
Internet service to access the Internet to have the same 
experience as millions of others around the world who do not 
have access to affordable broadband services. I am finding 
this experience has changed dramatically in the last several 
years as web site developers build and maintain sites that 
capitalize on broadband capabilities, including higher 
education institutions. 

I can usually get a 46K connect speed when using the dial-up 
service. I am not able to access web sites that require the 
user to use a particular software program to view the site, 
even if the software is available for download from the site. 
Using the dial-up service, I do not have the necessary data 
transfer speeds to download the necessary software. The web 
site developers tend to not offer users an option to contact 
them to get a copy of the software on a CD-ROM/DVD. Email 
requests to webmasters for this courtesy tend to be ignored.
Other web sites are very slow to load to the browser screen 
as sites become larger in size data-wise. I also do not have 
access to many of the PDF files that are being made available 
for download to a file or printer due to the large file size. 
Downloading a podcasting is out of the question! Music? 
Games? Out of the question! Downloading a 1M PDF file has the 
potential to bring a person to tears.  

Until such time dial-up service is no longer available, I 
will continue to use this service as an Internet researcher 
to have the same experience as the millions of others around 
the world who do not have the financial resources to purchase 
this service, or live in a part of the world that does not 
the necessary infrastructure to support this service. How is 
it possible to talk advocate for change on behalf of others 
without also living the experience??

-- Gail


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Gail D. Taylor, M.Ed.
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Human Resource Education Ph.D. Student
Educational Psychology Teaching Assistant

"The beautiful thing about learning is that no one 
can take that away from you." -- B.B. King, Blues Musician