Universal Access

Universal Access to computing and the Net is edging closer to reality. One company after another is now offering computing equipment and Net access to new employees. enRamp announced last week that it's offering a program to provide complete technology benefits to associates and their families. This is definitely a great moral (and business) idea whose time is coming. (Read More).

Universal Access to computing and the Net is becoming a reality, at least for some middle and working-class Americans, rather than the pipedream it was even a few years ago.

Among the sometimes arrogant techno-elite, the expense and complexity of going online is continuously trivialized, dismissed. But corporations seem to grasp how how critical it is for their employees -- and their kids and spouses -- to have Net access. And they?re making it happen.

Last year, the Ford Motor Company became the first major corporation to announce that it would provide computers, monitors and Net access to all its employees and members of their families, worldwide.

The Intel Corp. said that it would also give its employees home PC's plus Net access. Delta and American Airlines quickly followed. Intel actually topped Ford's better idea by providing PC's plus Internet access for its employees. Delta and American Airlines quickly followed suit. Intel topped Ford's offer by providing its workers with PC's that feature a 667-megahertz Pentium III, 128 megabytes, 32 megs of video RAM and a 20-gigabyte hard drive, plus a 17-inch monitor, a printer, a bundle of "productivity software" and a video-conferencing camera. Perhaps shamed by the fact that a car company trumped the tech industry, Intel even threw in each employee's choice of one computer-connected toy for the new Intel playline.

Friday, enRamp announced a new corporate affinity program that would enable businesses and other organizations to provide technology benefits, including complete computing packages to associates and their families. The idea of computing as an employee benefit is also significant. The enRamp program allows participants to obtain PC's by paying monthly charges of $24.95 or less over a three-year period, deducted from paychecks or organization dues.

Hardware aside, there's an enormous political idea here. Computers are increasingly becoming seen as a right, not just an expensive commercial, social or recreational appliance. Such companies like Ford see that access to computing can enhance morale and loyalty, facilitate corporate communications, transcend geographic boundaries, and even benefit family life, since many global employees and their kids would not be able to afford computers otherwise.

Ford and Intel get it.

This is good for the country, and great news for the tech industry: Universal Access, if it really catches, means staggeringly huge sales of computers, software and bandwidth to private companies, educational systems, perhaps even government agencies.

Universal Access is that rarest of social phenomena, the win-win issue. Except for moral guardians clucking about pornography and violent video games, who could really oppose it?: It can advance technology while it helps eliminate potentially bitter social divisions, upgrades literacy, education and research, liberates information, enhances democracy, strengthens community. Some companies even believes if strengthens family ties. It would make the Net a universal business, educational and social tool, rather than a network for the affluent, educated and technologically-inclined it is now.

Universal Access is one of the most unambivalently moral issues relating to technology and contemporary society. It helps fulfill the real promise of technology --- to bring information to everyone on the planet. Not to take anything away from the sweatshop issue, it's hard to think of a cause that would do more for the disadvantaged right here at home. While middle-class Americans are hooking up to the Net like mad, poor Americans aren't. Nor has most of the underdeveloped world. Without Universal Access, they will soon be hating the technologically-connected (especially the American variety) who monopolize and dominate the new technologies driving the global economy.

It's interesting that corporations, of all entities, rather than educational or political institutions (colleges and universities rarely provide personal computers to students taking these strides). Business grasps that internal communications networks, interconnected business environments and systems that involve the whole family are good for business. That they are, in fact, potentially good for everybody.

This will raise some interesting political issues as well, especially in countries with Ford workers but without protected freedom of speech. Since access to the Net makes censorship virtually impossible, countries with foreign workers working for companies like Ford will be under increased pressure to wire up.

So Universal Access inches towards reality. Although only a handful of companies have yet offered their workers full Net access and computing equipment, it seems inevitable that others will follow, if for no other reason that to stay competitive in a tight labor market.

Universal Access to computers doesn't guarantee any sort of social or techno-utopia, but would spread free speech and bring ideas like online voting closer. It will surely bring even bigger changes in retailing, e-trading, online entertainment and communication along with pressure to resolve the host of legal conflicts arising over patents and copyright. Every computer user could shop globally, every retailer sell all over the planet.

The designers of the Net (read C.J.R. Licklider and Jon Postel) fantasized that the computer network would become a universal educational and information tool. Mostly because of class and other factors, that hasn't happened. Universal Access might make it so.

There's a *major* downside to employer provided...

Many of us have signed IP agreements. By providing equipment to the employee, that just gives them a MUCH firmer ground for claiming anything you produce on that machine.

- chum

But here's a question...Plse help

Talking to one exec about this, she said, and I quote directly: "But one problem we're already encountering is that many people just can't use computers and have trouble navigating the Net. We can provide and upgrade and maintain the equipment, which helps, but some people are already asking us for some education as well, especially in other countries. Do you know anyone who does this or specializes in this? How difficult would this be?"
I wasn't sure what to tell her, frankly. How hard would this be in an underdeveloped country and are there companies that specialize in this? I'd appreciate any help or guidance. Plse e-mail me and I'll pass it along. Or post here in Threads and I'll pass the word to her and other execs to read through And thanks. I think this is one of those rare ideas that is both morally and economically just a good idea. She did say there would be cultural resistance in some countries, she thought.

Crap

This is a very dangerous line to walk. There's a small step from a company helping it's employees make computer purchases and a company providing a computer and access. And once someone in the corporate world sees some potential for keeping their home employees under their thumb, perhaps corporate owned PCs and network access at home isn't such a bad idea. The corp will own the PC and the access and will have little trouble reading your e-mail and checking out your browsing habits. All, of course, to make sure you aren't violating the terms of your employement and conditions of use of their system.

Sure, it sounds like I'm an alarmist, but I really see this creeping in so slowly as such a benfit to employees, only to be used against them. Hopefully it'll continue to be corps helping employees buy computers and not some horrible 1984 infestation of speechless netizens.

Bad Mojo [rps.net]

Re:Homeless, Please Help

Good point.

I doubt the local 24h convinience store will offer their illegal immigrant a free PIII-677 Mhz either.

It is not universal access it is "if you have a job in a big company" access.

Homeless, Please Help

"Homeless, No Work. Need Net. Will Work For Wireless Internet."

It's not a win win

It's not a win win.

Sure universal access would be great if everyone was connected, if everyone had a workstation, etc. I think it's very good of Ford, Intel and the rest for making this possible for their emplyees and their families.

Hoewver

It's not free. Promoting univeral access, especially when viewed as a right will in the lkong run cost Joe Average taxpayer a ton of money. Who benefits? Politicians will claim "look what I did, I brought technology to the masses". Big corporations will claim " Look what we did, we gave all our employees and their families pc's and access". What really will happen, bejhind the scenes is that the politicians will be spending gazillions of our tax dollars to fund another social program. Universal service for access to the homes will be paid for just as it is now as part of the furiously opposed "Schools and Libraries" Bill HR 7317. Basically your telecom bill gets additional taxes levied against it so we can pay for wiring schools and libraries with some token out of date clone pc with a 9600 baud modem and an AOL account.

Secondly the big businesses (especially tech companies) love this stuff. They will sell more product to the general public and also grab and keem a customer base for the future. The kids. Just like Mcdonalds does with it's happy meals. You get the favort of the kids when their young and you have them for life.

Universal Access, Just like Universal Service (Schools and Libraries Bill) is bad for the country and bad for the general public. Society is unfortunately made up of different levels of classes, financial and otherwise, having taxpayers pay so that Trailer park Tammy can have broadband brought into the doublewide is not the right way to get the public up to step with todays technology, that's a very socialist approach. This is all to similar to other social reform programs like Welfare, where I pay through taxes enough to support 10 kids a year, not my kids, I never see 'em and I never get a fathers day card. Universal Access will just be another program that has Joe middle class supporting those who are too lazy to work for what they want.

Kingston Communications

Lets not forget KC who announced today that they are going to put the entire town of Hull online. All explained in this Independa nt Article [independent.co.uk]

Also if my memory servers me correctly Santa Barbra/Monica (one of those) had a scheme of public access net so that even the homless could voice their opinions and concerns on local forums...

harumph

I was all set to post a detailed reply about how the hardware costs of net access are tiny (like, And then I thought, "why bother." After all, most /. readers know the difference between Katz's real articles, and the puff pieces like this which he cranks out when the mortgage is due (or something).

Jon, perhaps you could do us all the favor of self-moderating. In the headline of your article, just add "flamebait" to your rable-rousing Columbine stories, "real story" to your occational investigative works, and "self-indulgent, wanking crapfest" to articles like this.

Sound fair?

Re:But here's a question...Plse help

Talking to one exec about this, she said, and I quote directly: "But one problem we're already encountering is that many people just can't use computers and have trouble navigating the Net.[...] but some people are already asking us for some education as well, especially in other countries. Do you know anyone who does this or specializes in this? How difficult would this be?"

Giving universal access to third-world countries and trying to teach people how to use the internet is almost the moral equivalent of bread and circuses. The truth is that many people will be too busy being robbed by the government/rebels/some thug down the street, or too worried about starving to death or dying of some disease to learn much about using this information.

The internet is not a bandaid. Its introduction into a chaotic society will not suddenly make everyone polite and good to each other. It is a wasted gesture until the society in question is stable enough that the people don't have to worry about starvation, disease, and violence and actually have the resources to learn how to use the information given to them. Until then, it is mostly a feel-good gesture on the part of paternalistic first-world powers.

Who gets the access?

I'm all for universal access, and I generally think that companies who provide these benefits are doing a Good Thing(tm), but I think we need to consider the reasons behind companies giving out connectivity. I mean, who benefits the most from having access to these technologies? Certainly the employees do, but so do the companies, I would think. Isn't giving everyone a free computer and internet access just another way to tie the employees to their jobs? Imagine a situation where an employer gives everyone a free pager -- good deal, right? Well, that freebie can also be used by the employer to stay in touch with the employees 24 hours a day, so the employees are theoretically "on call" all the time. It's a price they pay for the free technology, but is it worth it if you can't escape your workplace?

BS

What "moral" reason is there to hand out free stuff and services? There is none. Katz and Clinton can fix the imaginary "digital divide" with their ivory tower, intellectual, elitist, pigplan of handing out free computers, phone lines, and Internet access. Guess what happens? A bunch of low-end PC's for sale at pawn shops within 24 hours.

Free net access and low cost PC's are available right now to anyone who wants them. It takes the desire on a person's part to obtain these things, not a government or corporate plan devised by some non-reality dwelling, take-no-responsibility-when-it-does-not-work academic.

Look what happened to the Inuit indians in Alaska when oil money was liberally handed out in the 1970's. A bunch of drunk Eskimos and broken skimobiles in every driveway. That is immoral. Get real.

Ford can F off.

Yes, it would be nice if net access existed universally as an infrastructure layer in the same way as paved roads, electricity, gas, drainage, and freshwater do.

Net access isn't as important as these. Look how few people in the world have access to any of the above. Depressing, isn't it?

Furthermore, how would I like it if Ford provided me with electricity, Ford built the road between my house and the factory, and Ford supplied me with fresh water.

No f***ing way would I like it not one little bit. If net access really is this vital layer that like sanitation, street lighting, and chlorinated water will pull civilisation into the next era then I ABSOLUTLEY DO NOT WANT IT CONTROLLED BY CORPORATIONS.

On the other hand if net access is just a way for the rich and the poor of the west to waste their time and money on sterile information and pointless shopping, then hey roll on McAmerica, give the the huddled masses peecees and bandwidth, all for free, nothing to lose but your minds.

"Every computer user could shop globally, every retailer sell all over the planet. "

Yeah nice idea. This is where the rich people on the nice side of the world buy stuff made by the other side of the world. Then, they go on holiday to the poor side and come back to tell all their rich friends how much better the poor side is but what a shame its being spoilt by all those factories and poor people with no rights.

But do you want universal access by company PC ?

Ok, first of all I like being net.connected all of the time. Forget dialin, go leased line.

But: getting universal access from your employer makes you dependend on that employer for access. And what if you use that access in a way your employer disagrees with. What if you post opinions (in your free time) that offend others who contact your ISP about it (your employer? Or an ISP who forwards this to your employer?). Or what if you want to post something about your own company (whistleblowing ?) that could get you fired. First case I can think of is the Northwest searching employees home computers [slashdot.org] because they were suspected of being involved in actions against Northwest.

I have been asked to remove stuff on a website totally not related to my job because a user could get there from the homepage of my employer with a number of clicks so the remarks I made there could be seen as being a negative comment on working at my current job (and this in .nl where people are expected to have a life outside work). One reason I am separating my 'being active on Internet' from my work address/webservers.