Importance of Broadband Access

In South Africa we will only grow as an Internet community when Broadband Access becomes more affordable and more available to the masses.

I've been to cyber cafes and they are expensive, but then they have to pay for broadband access, which we know isn't cheap.

Government keeps on making noises about supporting small business development, but how are emerging businesses supposed to become established and grow without people being able to have cheap or free broadband access so that they can at least learn internet skills and establish a presence on the internet.

We know that it takes more than a course or workshop or two to get comfortable on the World Wide Web. One needs to spend time, surfing, playing, setting up a blog, investigating social networking, learning how to search.

I found this really interesting article about the importance of broadband access . It explains that Americans are turning to the Web for solutions, but poorer people, with out broadband access, were in trouble - their access to information and hunger for it diminished.

"Once you get broadband, you see what's available and pursue more of what's available," Rainie said. "The Internet has taught people to be even more hungry about information and to be even more aggressive about hunting it down in a variety of places."

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