Technological Aspects:
Inadequate technological solutions are one of the major reasons for the perseverance of the domestic (United States) and international divides. Not unlike the two previous distinctions, the technology dilemma exists in the United States as well as the international community and both may provide for extensive discussion. This section however, will focus primarily on the technological struggle within the U.S., since much of the international constraint lies within financial conflict. Existing problems and possible solutions can be broken into three significant categories, hardware, software, and infrastructure limitations.
Hardware is arguably the most significant constraint to being considered, “technologically hip.” Hardware, in this context, refers to phones lines, computers, modems, routers, satellites, and any piece of equipment that may aid someone in increasing their technological capabilities. Without many of the advancements made in the last fifty years, “modern technology” as most Americans know it, would not exist. The most up-to-date hardware is often quite pricey and thus remains a large reason for the divides existence.
Specifically, the Internet requires at least some sort of computing system such as a PC or other console, and access to an Internet service provider. In a study done by global Internet Trends however, the access fee was not the main reason for staying offline. 16% of the population indicated that access fess were the reason that they were not online, while a striking 33% claimed that not owning a computer was the main reason.13/ Though considered almost unacceptable these days, the lack of a computer is still the case in many homes. Both the financial burden and setup difficulties are reasons many Americans have chosen not to purchase a computer. One solution is MSN TV, formally known as WebTV. It is a device that connects to most household TV’s and allows people to surf right from their favorite spot on the couch. Its simplicity and affordability helps give an alternative solution to many Americans.
MSN TV is indeed a great solution if you desire to use the net only to perform simple tasks such as getting news or buying airplane tickets. One review found that its, “constraints are so severe that even this great design ultimately fails to provide an optimal Web user experience.”14/ This has caused few people to choose this option and left most to fiddle with the tiresome dial-up modem. Many people today are using even more complex configurations to access broadband, which will be discussed later in further detail.
Though hardware is a major barrier for many people, the software that drives the Internet may offer some hurdles as well. The very heart of the Internet lies in something known as the Internet Protocol, or IP for short. IP is the very means by which messages are transported from one computer to another. It allows all computers on this giant network to “talk” and exchange information with each other.
When a web site name is typed into the URL bar, the name is actually referenced at a DNS server, which then returns the IP address. This address is a number, similar to a house address, and is used to locate a particular computer on the web. The Architects of the Internet had planned for expansion, but it was never thought possible that machines such as printers, cell phones, or even cars might need an IP address.15/ So the IP address was allocated 4bytes or 32 bits. This allowed for a max of 2^32 or about 4.2 billion addresses. This may seem large but it is becoming much more common for each person to use multiple IP’s thus exhausting the available pool. 4
Another problem in the IP address design is that it follows a strict hierarchy and addresses are often dealt out in sums of 256, 65,000, or even 16 million.16/ This has become a major predicament and major companies have even begun using illegal or unregistered IP addresses.17/ This is also a major reason why at the current time, it would be almost impossible to hook up everyone to the net. There are simply not enough addresses and the method of distribution is far too inefficient.
There are several solutions to this problem however. The first is a major project in the works known as IPv6. The current system is known as IPv4 because as previously shown, the address system uses 4 bytes. IPv6 as you may guess uses 6 bytes which is 48 bits or 2^24 addresses. That would allow for a theoretical 281 trillion address, more than could possibly be used in the foreseeable future. This method does have several drawbacks however. This is where the difficulties to software implementation begin to unravel. Almost all machines on the Net are setup for 32 bit addresses. That includes routers, DNS servers, networking applications, messenger programs, email, and any number of other services. Switching directly over to IPv6 would be like deciding to alter your cars internal frame. Since this would be just short of impossible, the new IPv6 network instead works with the old IPv4 network as people slowly transcend over.18/ The IPv4 network would then be phased out over time. 4
There are two other solutions that are much simpler, but are also considered to be temporary. The first is how most Internet Service providers currently handle there limited supply of IP’s. When you dial into the service you are assigned a temporary IP, and when you log off that IP is put back into the pool of available addresses.4 A second and more complex solution is known in Linux as IP masquerading. This is a relatively useful way of dividing up one IP address to multiple computers. The Internet has reserved addresses that are not considered “legal” by the outside world. You may then assign these addresses to a computer within a private network, and they will tie into a single external IP connection through a network address translator.19/ The major flaw is that computers in a private network may not service any computer outside that network. The details are quite complex, but this method is generally considered acceptable only for a home user.
Many have argued that the Internet is just another tool for the rich, and another missed opportunity for the poor. This particular relationship may indeed be true, but access to the Internet in a more general scope is not so black and white. A third category that will be referred to as infrastructure limitations includes many other factors such as geographical location and various situational circumstances. This category has arguably evolved the furthest in recent years and has relentlessly exploited the latest innovations.
One of the most exciting new developments it the Internet is broadband. In this context, broadband is defined as DSL, cable, ISDN, satellite, direct access to a backbone, or in general any connection at 128K/sec or greater transfer rate. Broadband essentially defines a subdivide within the divide. It also clearly reveals a large difference in the global and national divides. While global focuses on the number of people with access, the American divide is becoming more focused on household access speed. 4
Until recently the concept of high-speed access and broadband was somewhat of a hypothetical buzzword, especially if you lived in a rural area. This was due to the fact that high-speed access relied on a direct connection to a backbone line, which usually consisted of a t1, a t3, or a fiber channel. The further you lived from a data processing center, the more unlikely you were even a candidate for these extremely expensive options. Since a standard phone wire linked most homes, they maxed out at a rate of about 56K/sec and thus downloaded at a much slower rate. This particular gap was partially closed by the advent of Digital Subscriber Line (DSL). This method was much more efficient that rewiring the entire U.S. because it allowed you to use your current phone lines to achieve speeds of up to 1.5/M or over 30 times the previous rates.20/ By purchasing a special modem and the phone company changing the mechanics at the access point, DSL was born. For this to work however, you must be a certain distance from the data center, and this proved to be a problem for rural residents. Other programs have been implemented such as Arizona’s TOPAZ project which will, “expedite the build out of broadband infrastructure to rural communities at a lower cost to consumers”.21/
Along came another innovation that closed the broadband gap even further. The innovation of satellite DSL was the next wave in delivering high-speed access to remote homes. This was particularly powerful because it connects not only rural America, but also rural locations worldwide. Satellite is not the perfect solution however. It requires a clear line of sight from your dish to the satellite, and may quickly lose performance when bad weather approaches.22/ Satellite service is also not well suited for applications that require, “constant transmission of small data packets; these include online gaming, web page hosting, video conferencing, and multiple small file downloads”. 23/
Hardware software and infrastructure combine to form the basis for the technological inadequacy within the United States. This inadequacy is one of the major reasons for the divides existence. With the help of technological innovations, the gap between the population has largely been eliminated. The area is still maturing, and in time, technology will theoretically disappear as a reason for the divide.