We recently read an Associated Press article that grabbed our attention. It also was a source of frustration.

We posted a blog back on June 15 titled “School’s Out.” We wrote about the things that schools were doing to reach their students during a time of social distancing. We showed the creative solutions that teachers used to provide their students with the necessary tools to continue their education – especially when the Internet was not a viable alternative.

It’s two months later and little has changed. We are trying to get a handle on this pandemic. School’s are doing what they can to open safely in some areas. But parents are leary about sending their children back before this disease is eradicated.

Let’s get back to the AP article. New school year, same story. There are many rural areas that don’t have Internet access, or very limited access. A small town in Kentucky is one of those areas.

A family with three children between the ages of 12 and 15 lives in this area. With limited Internet access, finishing the school year was a struggle. Starting a new school year in the same position will be a struggle.

To get their work done, the kids had to try to connect to the Internet over a “spotty” cell phone WiFi hotspot. This causes a tremendous strain on the data limits the phone service provides.

Here’s the frustrating part. The same providers that removed data caps at the start of the Covid-19 outbreak are now starting to bring them back. This means extra charges and, more importantly, when a family exceeds their data cap, the provider slows down an already slow Internet connection. Not the time for huge communications corporations to impose data caps and squeeze throughput!

In a February 24 blog, we addressed the need for satellite Internet to cover these rural areas. We discussed the cons of satellite Internet – especially when it comes to latency issues. In the blog we said: “It seems Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, gets it. SpaceX has announced that they are getting into the satellite Internet service provider business this year. It’ll take some time to reach the entire country, but it looks like the plan is to launch over 4,000 satellites to get the job done.” 

What Musk got was the need to address latency. Just as important, he was aware of the need to “reach the entire country.” Good idea. So when trying times like these impact our children’s access to a meaningful education, the technology is available.

That “School’s Out” blog we reference earlier also demonstrates the same problem in lower income areas where Internet access is available, but not affordable. We demonstrate how this problem can be addressed with the cooperation of people and businesses with the resources to help. 

In one instance: “A lower income apartment complex was in a similar situation. They had the devices, they didn’t have Internet service. JitterWorks, and the church across the alley, were in a position to help.”

We concluded that blog with a request: “If you find yourself in a position to do something similar for a house, an apartment building, a senior living facility, or anyone you know with a similar problem, we recommend you get involved. You’ll be happy you did.”