It was refreshing. Driving from Florida to New York. On the first of a two day, 23 hour drive I turned my cell phone on vibrate. Didn’t send any texts or emails, check the market – nothing. I was unplugged.
When you unplug for a short while you look around and realize some things… one of those realizations was everyone around you is constantly on their phones.
Stopping for the night and leaving my hotel I found myself at a restaurant surrounded by families and travelers – all heads down thumbing away on their phones. No interaction.
This is not some grand epiphany. We’re all are guilty of it. It’s an addiction to technology. More than that – it’s the expectation that we’re always going to have our technology available to plug in to.
In America alone there are hundreds of millions of phones being used. So there I was, unplugged and looking at my surroundings, and I thought what would happen if we could not stay connected?
What would happen to the masses if they couldn’t check their social media accounts or work emails?
That’s what happened to me on day two of my journey.
As I climbed higher into the mountains of Virginia and then Pennsylvania my cell service became spotty. And with the weather conditions deteriorating I was more conscious of my phone in case of an emergency. All of the freedom of being unplugged now turned into a paranoia of not being able to contact somebody if something happens.
While it’s true that WiFi is becoming more and more available – the fact of the matter is – there are still plenty of places that it’s hard to get phone service, let alone have the capacity for WiFi.
I arrived in upstate New York and my cell service stopped from going in-and-out to just plain old not working.
Now for those of you who live in this area or have visited – you know its beautiful country. Lots of unspoiled landscape. And then every so often you run across an area packed with cell phone towers or wind farms. It’s such a contrast, but a necessary evil to fulfill our fix for technology.
Because while many people use their phones for social media or streaming videos and music – a lot of us need them for work. If we can’t work – we can’t make money.
So here I am now in upstate New York, the feelings of freedom from unplugging now reached desperation to get back online. Because for all those hours I was offline – I now needed to get back online and back to work.
But I had no service as I was getting into town.
This is a problem for millions of Americans in rural areas. And the question becomes one of nature vs. technology…
If a company puts in an application to build a cell tower, the people fight it tooth and nail, not wanting to spoil their pristine landscapes.
And I get it.
But its hell for those of us that rely on our electronics to stay connected to our jobs.
It’s technology vs. nature. It’s corporate America vs. Main Street.
But for me it was working or losing money. So what’s the solution?
It’s called nationwide WiFi. The big idea is that WiFi signals may soon become as strong as wireless phone service, or as common as a road.
A signal can “piggy back” onto the cell towers and make sure that WiFi is there when and if it’s needed.
Another way is through airwaves used by television and radio stations. By ‘repurposing airwaves’ this could free up more space to make WiFi more readily available across so called ‘dead zones.’
But like nature vs. technology – this argument is split between 2 titling heavyweights: Telecom and technology.
To ‘repurpose’ airwaves the government would have to buy airwaves from local TV and radio stations.
As you can imagine the telecomm industry is lobbying the government to keep those airwaves in their hands. And they’re not happy.
On the other end of the ring, tech giants like Google and Microsoft see a nationwide public WiFi network as a way to advance access and innovation.
Whether you agree with the telecom or tech industry – or nature vs. technology – one things is certain… working Americans need access to technology. The government realizes this. So does corporate America. And I think it’s only a matter of time before areas, like the one I’m at right now, will have access to not only cell service but WiFi as well.
People need the internet to work… and to socialize. If we’re going to advance and innovate everyone needs access. Rich or poor. Urban or suburban.
But a funny things happened when I got to the Inn I was staying…
I not only had cell service again but my phone came alive with hundreds of emails.
So here I sit, outside on a beautiful deck typing away on my laptop, listening to a creek running and birds chirping as I look out into the wilderness. Funny – maybe I was wrong. It doesn’t always have to be nature vs. technology… sometimes… nature and technology come together.
Regards,
Ethan Warrick
Editor
Wealth Authority
