Why We Need a Public Internet?

We already saw during the advent of the COVID pandemic how much we needed the internet while we were social distancing. Internet is becoming so important in everyone’s lives that internet access is considered as important as water supply. Some people even consider it to be declared a human right since it enables everyone to educate themselves, access job listings, and connect with other individuals. In some cases, cell phone contracts and data allowance are a bit pricey, which people from lower socioeconomic classes cannot even pay for, and having no internet connection will negatively affect their situation. Moreover, this lack of internet can also create a deep divide among multiple classes of people and contribute to the persistence of inequality. This article will detail some of the reasons why having access to a public internet connection will help individuals in society.

There might be some cities and companies that are already providing such services to their citizens or subscribers, to be able to access internet connection in public. One such initiative is by Comcast Xfinity, which allows its internet users to access 20 million hotspots across the country. All they need to do is subscribe to Xfinity internet services and use their Xfinity account to log in to any of the Xfinity hotspots in the area. If interested, you can read more about their services or just reach out to the Xfinity customer service for details. Through this initiative, it is stressed more than the need for internet connection in public spaces.

Benefits of Having Public Internet Access

An increasing number of internet users need to use the internet daily due to their educational, professional, and social needs. Having free public Wi-Fi connection contributes to a better and more connected society, and the following are some of the reasons why;

• Disaster Relief. In situations of natural disasters, there is a sense of community where everyone is involved in collaboration, organization, and general helpfulness to make sure everyone is safe and sound. But in such a situation, it is hard to get a message around to everyone. Having a public Wi-Fi zone doesn’t take up much power to stay online when the electricity runs out during any disaster scenario. Only a small generator or solar panel would be needed to keep it running.

Moreover, in such scenarios, the zone’s administrator could have a webpage that can be viewed by anyone using the public Wi-Fi to send a message across, such as what’s the situation in the area, what roads are closed, what supplies are needed, etc. Hence, public Wi-Fi can become an important key in the post-disaster scenario as well.

• There is a phenomenon that was highlighted during the COVID pandemic called the Digital Divide. If it isn’t evident from the term, it refers to a gap that some communities are experiencing due to the unavailability of computers or internet connections. Libraries are a good place to make that possible for people who need access to computers or the internet, but even libraries have closing times. And most people who need the internet are camped outside the libraries to use their Wi-Fi.

If there was a free and public internet zone, then internet users wouldn’t need to stop at a pizza place and purchase one just to use the internet connection. Also, it would benefit businesses that are living within that zone. Students who have homework pending and need to look through job portals can also hang around that zone.

Tourism. Having a public wireless internet connection in the city also has a positive impact on the tourism of the country. People would recognize such towns and cities with public Wi-Fi connections and think of these places as forward-thinking places and as a result, tourism will be boosted.

Additionally, this wireless connectivity zone can be set up as a landing page that is seen by everyone who uses public Wi-Fi. this page can list a calendar of town activities, local eateries, and things you can do in town. Public internet connections are used by people everywhere, especially by those who are out of town.

In short, having public Wi-Fi will help to bridge the divide between communities and give the impression that cities having public Wi-Fi connections are forward-thinking and modern.

Conclusion

A network connection with free Wi-Fi hotspots is a service that should be provided to people, particularly those with lower incomes. Although there are many successful initiatives that are working towards just that, there are still other factors that demand the need for a public internet connection.