Matthew Hickey

July 6th, 2019

DTC 101 / Dr. Edwards
Module 2 Project

In today’s world, we use the internet for almost everything. We use it for communication,
learning, driving, and many other essential tasks. However, affordable and fast internet is not
widely available in every place. Just like in “Ready Player One”, our world is currently moving
even further into the digital/online world and a large prevent of the world’s population still does
not have access to the internet.

The internet has allowed society to become increasingly globalized; I can purchase
almost anything from anywhere in the world or I can learn about any topic instantly, all with the
tap of a few fingers. As first world nations grew, so did their access to technology and
innovation. The countries that have not been advancing in technology are left at an educational
and economical disadvantage.

Although internet does not seem like a commodity or precious resource, it is

indispensable in educational, economical, and societal growth. Not only this, but it also has
helped to shape the culture in many countries and societies. It has allowed people of all creeds to
share ideologies and beliefs, for the share of technology and knowledge, and for the global
connection of culture and ideas.

I wholeheartedly believe that internet access can shape a person, let alone a whole nation.
The mission to spread internet across the globe has been a recent project by many companies and
people; however, most efforts have failed or stalled to due costs. There are two relatively feasible
options that would provide affordable, fast internet to everyone around the world.
Matthew Hickey
July 6th, 2019
DTC 101 / Dr. Edwards
Module 2 Project

The first method is to lay cable that would connect major cities and towns across the
world. This would especially help areas that are more urban yet do still not have access to
reliable internet. Although laying fiber optics or broadband connections does not sound too
difficult, it poses many problems as most of these nations with poor internet access do not have
the infrastructure in place to lay cable. It would be too expensive to burry cable and to move
machinery around. That leaves us with a seemingly crazy option: satellites.

Although it has been tried in the past and failed, Elon Musk and SpaceX are now trying
to establish a global satellite network that would provide internet to everyone around the world.
This exploit is not without its hardships like cost, regulatory red-tape, and design problems, but if
this network can be completed it would help nations currently without internet to modernize and
move into a better economic status.

As you can see, internet is often taken for granted by those in the first world, but almost
half of the world’s population is still without internet. The idea of access to fast, reliable internet
is shared in “Ready Player One” where people move to Columbus to be as close as possible to
the main Oasis servers. Just as Parzival said “Most important, it offered a direct fiber-optic
connection to the main OASIS server vault, which was located just a few miles away. This was
Matthew Hickey
July 6th, 2019
DTC 101 / Dr. Edwards
Module 2 Project

the fastest and most secure type of Internet connection available…” (Cline, 302). I believe our
society will soon move toward this idea where internet becomes a commodity that everyone
wants, but that becomes progressively harder to maintain speed and reliability.

Works Citied

Cline, Ernest. Ready Player One. 2018. Print.

Finley, Klint. “Here's the Real Way to Get Internet to the Next 4 Billion People.” Wired, Wired,
30 June 2017, www.wired.com/2015/09/heres-real-way-get-internet-next-4-billion-people/.

Murphy, Julia, and Max Roser. "Internet." Our World in Data. Our World in Data, 14 July 2015.
Web. 07 July 2019. <https://ourworldindata.org/internet>.