And the internet is back. It has been a long week without internet, and I’m glad it is over. Now we can check email regularly, the kids can do their homework, Netflix is back, all the things we take for granted.
Knowing we would be without internet we tried to make arrangements, but they just didn’t work out. I had wanted my phone to tether to the computer and share data, but I couldn’t get it to work. Fortunately our neighbor set up a guest account for us on his WiFi, which was nice, but horribly inconsistent. Not only would our computers not always see his network, but when it was working it would cut out randomly.
Participating in NaBloPoMo was going to be a challenge, but a few posts I had written up ahead of time. Others I wrote up and got ready to upload and schedule for posting during those magical times when we could get on the internet. Scheduling the posts ahead of time was absolutely crucial to being able to stay consistent with my NaBloPoMo participation.
Having this week without a consistent internet connection has only reinforced my position that internet connectivity needs to be regulated and controlled as if it were a utility. Yes, you can argue all you want about free enterprise and competition in the market and whatever, but at this point there is so much that needs to be done online, such as job applications, something needs to happen. While the internet may be “a luxury” for some, for many it isn’t, and should be treated like water or electricity, something everybody should have access to without restriction.