Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
enforced rules or overt discrimination. Economic and political issues
sometimes arise for the Internet Service Providers (ISPs), which in
turn impact the end user.
Case Study 7
One telephone company in Iowa indicated it would provide only dialup ser
vice to its customers until the state legislature changed the tax structure. The
company claimed, for example, that a more efficient DSL (Digital Subscriber
Line) connection was technologically possible, but too expensive for the de
mand. At the same time, many local telephone companies in the same state
were providing DSL connections to their customers without complaint.
On the same subject, a resident of an urban community near Los Angeles com
plained that advances in technology were needed so he could get DSL connec
tions at his house, at the same time that DSL was commonly available in rural
Iowa.
Case Study 7 illustrates a nontechnical constraint on access re
lated to politics and economics. Technology was available to supply
fast DSL service throughout rural Iowa, and some customerori
ented companies made that technology available in their areas. The
other company wanted to change public policy, and it held DSL ac
cess hostage to its interests in taxes and profits. Thus, access and its
limits are not always based on technology; other factors may be at
least as important. Consider the second part of Case Study 7, in
which DSL connections were not readily available near the city of
Los Angeles. If technology can allow access over hundreds of miles
in rural Iowa, certainly the same technology could allow connec
tions near urban Los Angeles. Sometimes access is more a matter of
will than technology.
The DSL connection example also highlights issues of cost and
capacity for consumers. In particular, although DSL service pro
vides continuous access to the Internet—often at reasonably high
speed—a nonDSL connection over telephone lines typically is slow
and requires a telephone call to an ISP. Slow connections may limit
access by requiring long periods of time to transmit files, and tele
phone calls required for access can incur longdistance charges.
Thus, the simple means by which someone connects to the Web has
influence over the quality of their Internet experience.
Search WWH ::




Custom Search