The Internet
Last week I wrote in this space about how much fun I have on my “smart phone.” I don’t know if I mentioned in that column that the main reason I purchased a smart phone was for the internet access. You see, I, like many others in the county, do not have internet access at home.
Oh, yes, I could. AT&T tells me I can get dial-up service for a mere $22.95 a month. (People in Hillsboro have DSL for $9.95 a month.)
I long ago decided I could drive the 5.5 miles to the office and use DSL in the time it takes to log on with dial-up. I don’t generally consider myself an impatient person, but sometimes I am, especially when it comes to surfing the web.
AT&T also says its wireless will work at my house. When I tell the representative its phones don’t, she tries to tell me that the internet would anyway. Yeah, right.
Or, I could do like a couple of my neighbors and get satellite. Never mind installation is expensive and the monthly charge is too. I’ll just drive to the office, thank you.
Usually whatever I want to look up is not that pressing, and if it is, I have my phone. The internet on the phone is slower than at the office, but I think it’s probably faster than dial-up. It’s handy.
But it is frustrating that AT&T doesn’t offer DSL in my area.
I had the pleasure of meeting a relatively new Jasper County deputy the other day, and as we chatted he was amazed to learn I did not have internet at my home.
No, he wasn’t stopping me for speeding, and we were not at a horrendous car accident. Actually, it was when an electrical line was across the road. He had to stand by to be sure no cars hit it, and I was trying to get some photos for the paper.
It was a pleasure because he know who I was, complimented the newspaper, and was generally just a nice guy, who seems to love Jasper County as much as I do.
But, he was incredulous to learn I did not have fast access internet service at my home. He lives on Jackson Lake Road, the Hwy. 11 end, and he has internet. Sometimes I think I’m the only one left in the world without fast-access internet at my home.
But I know I am not. There are plenty of others right here in Jasper County. All the population centers have access—Monticello, Shady Dale, Hillsboro, Turtle Cove—and many people now have it in areas leading to those places. I live on a state highway, though, and don’t have it.
My wonderful husband, Jimmy, was content for a long time without internet. It did not bother him being technologically challenged; he didn’t realize he was missing out on anything.
He is sorta impatient, so waiting for sites to come up would aggravate him. And he doesn’t sit still much, so sitting in front a computer screen for any length of time would test him. But, even he has learned that he is missing out on something in life not being able to shop, research, and play on the computer.
He’s quick to say, “let’s google that” now, even though he’s no computer whiz.
He hunts in Stewart County (he belonged to a club there before he met me, and likes it there). Stewart County is not far from Columbus, but we take backroads all the way there. Judging by what I see on the way, there are lots of places more rural and poorer than Jasper County. I wonder if they have access to the internet.
Students today do not remember life without the internet. Luckily our library offers internet access for those students who can’t get it at home, and can’t afford a smart phone. But, it’s only open three days a week.
I have implored our state Rep. Susan Holmes to address this issue from a legislative point. It seems to me that AT&T is making money hand over fist providing internet access to the millions of households and businesses in nearby Atlanta. It seems the company could provide it here at a loss, if necessary.
When electricity was first available, the rural electric companies, now the EMCs, were formed to provide it because the big companies left the rural areas in the dark.
The EMCs have not yet found a way to provide inexpensive access to the internet for their rural customers.
Nowadays, it seems the internet is much like electricity…we can’t imagine life without it. If you watch television, there are constant references to websites. If you need a recipe…you go to the internet. If you don’t feel good, you check out your symptoms on WebMD.
When I tell people I don’t have internet access at home, they look at me like I am a martian or something.
In my column two weeks ago, I said I was looking forward to 2012. Maybe 2012 will be the year I get DSL at my home.
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By the way, if you brought a cake to my dad’s house for us to enjoy at the memorial service, and you haven’t gotten your plate back, please call me. We have a very nice cake plate that someone may be missing, but we don’t know who. Sorry. Please give us a call if you think it’s yours.