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Speedbumps on the digital highway |
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Written by Tony Phelps
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Thursday, 17 November 2005 |
The spread of broadband internet connections across America and similar
advanced economies is having a marked effect on the IT products we use.
Unfortunately, it isn’t all good news.
Many people in Vanuatu are using dial-up (modems) to connect to the
internet, and typically get connection speeds of around 50 kbps
(thousand bits per second). This is fast enough to transfer the text in
this column in a theoretical 5 seconds or so, but theory rarely matches
reality and it will probably take twice or three times longer to
transfer (for a range of reasons which aren’t all that interesting).
‘Broadband’ is a general term, usually applying to fast, permanent
connections to the internet. In countries where there is competition
for internet customers (and so more choice with lower prices), there is
likely to be a number of ‘plans’ available from different suppliers,
where a customer chooses a connection speed and a monthly download
allowance. Even at the lowest end of the choices, broadband connection
speeds will be 5 times faster than dial-up.
Telecom Vanuatu does offer broadband connections, but they require an
aerial with line-of-sight access to their tower above Port Vila (ie.
you need to be able to see it clearly from your roof, with no trees or
buildings in the way). They are very expensive.
However, those with the funds or the need for high-speed internet
access face another bottleneck. All of Vanuatu’s internet users (ie.
dialup, broadband, and others) have to share the overall connection to
the country. This total ‘bandwidth’ (ie. the sum of the big connections
from Vanuatu to the rest of the world via satellite) is not exactly
generous. Vanuatu’s broadband is faster, but not fast. At peak times,
broadband is no better than dialup.
Is this a big deal? In a world that increasingly assumes you not only
have an internet connection, but a permanent and fast one, it means
frustrating delays and waits and extra download costs. Most modern
software will update itself via the internet, particularly important
for anti-virus applications. Services such as Hushmail (for
confidential email) load encryption from the website each time you
visit. HotMail & Yahoo feature large multimedia ads that you can’t
switch off. Such services are evolving on the understanding that
your internet connection is not choking… and will get worse.
The internet is crucial to Vanuatu. It is to be hoped that its digital
highway will have its speedbumps removed, and will continue to be
upgraded until it truly is a highway. |
