Signal 2: Understanding Internet Distribution Geographically
Internet has enhance our way of life and the form of our social activities. It has grown from a commodified utility to a valuable resource that set base of future development. But as such resource, access to fast and reliable internet is prone to unequal distribution.
A Financial Times article that analyzed internet broadband speed geographically found a prevalent “Digital Divide” between suburban areas and inner cities of United Kingdom. A similar pattern is found among United Kingdom’s largest metropolitan areas: Internet speed in the city centers is much slower compared to speed in their surrounding suburban areas. The article states that a stronger infrastructural investment in suburban area may have explained the outcome to lower connection speed in main city centers.
Such occurrence also exposes one of vulnerabilities that internet as a resource has: economic exploitation. Inner cities has larger population and process more activities that demand reliable internet connection than to its surrounding areas. This become an opportunity for internet provides in the city to inflate their prices of faster internet more than they would do in the suburban areas to profit from higher demand.
Much of our activities today are so well integrated within the internet that It is difficult to remember days where internet was yet to play a role our routine. Access to reliable internet has become a determining factor in our society, especially in an urban environment where the need to be connected is prioritized, and thus management of internet distribution could be a key to the success of urban future development
Financial Times story that includes interactive map: https://ig.ft.com/gb-broadband-speed-map/
