Don't be fooled - not all of Japan has access to the latest internet technology (I'm talking about hi-speed fiber optic networks). While this technology has reached as far north in Okinawa as Nago, it has not come past there into the villages of Higashi, Ogimi, and Kunigami. The reason? Perhaps, revenue versus cost. It's my guess that there are not enough people up here that would use internet to make it worth building a network. Which leaves me confused as to why some of the outer islands have better internet access than we do - who decided to build networks out to those islands?
But speed is only part of the point here. I've come to accept my slow internet. During downloads and page loadings, I do other productive things, like study or run. The other aspect of my internet service, one that I'm reminded of monthly, is cost. I pay around $90 US a month for slow ass internet. It's more complicated than that, so let me explain.
I use what is known as ISDN, the technology that emerged after the introduction of the dial-up modem. For some of you younger readers, you might be thinking, "what's a modem?" or "what's dial-up?" I remember talking to my friend Cliff one day about how I used dial-up modems and bulletin board systems (BBS) back in high school - he had no idea what I was talking about. Anyway, it's not fast and it requires a phone line. And this is where NTT (the phone company) makes a killing (I assume).
The internet connection fee is around $25 US a month. The phone line rental is $65 US. So with about twice the money it took to wire my Chicago apartment with relatively fast cable, I get internet that kind of sucks.
This doesn't really bother me anymore, except when I can't connect. Yesterday, the phone line refused to connect despite all my attempts to get it to dial. I eventually gave up and during errands in Nago stopped by the internet cafe. But I was starting to get a little pissed off at NTT and I had this months bills on my desk, ready to call them with threats of cancellation and a loss of revenue. So of course, this morning, I connected and everything's back to normal. Close one, NTT. If it wasn't for my study habits, which require internet resources, you might have one less reason to build that network in Higashi.
Angaur, Palau Environmental Portraits
13 years ago
1 comment:
The internet is a freakin' racket here. Did I tell you when I most recently re-connected to the internet, I had to pay a guy $30 to come and take my modem out of the box and plug in the phone cords to it? It took him less than 45 seconds and it wasn't until it was all over with that I realized how scammed I'd just been. I was not amused.
And how wrong is it that I feel relieved that my bill has settled into a monthly fee of about $60 for my [fast] internet. $60! and you, $90! It's obscene.
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