Socialism On The Internets!

This week, Finland became the first country to offer broadband access as a right to every citizen. Citing the Internet's functionality as a communication tool and the fact that it is no longer for entertainment purposes only, Finland committed to building the infrastructure to bring 1MB/s speeds to all of their citizens. Even more ambitiously, officials have promised to raise the requirement to 100MB/s by 2015. The "right" is not free, however, and users will have to pay a low monthly fee.
This news should be exciting, yet somewhat disconcerting for Americans. In the country that invented the Internet, using military spending in the 1960's to build the first computer networks, the United States ranks 25th in the world in broadband access. Among active Internet users, only 80% of households have broadband access.
While businesses, both large and small, and, of course the military, have taken full advantage of the Internet since it was commercialized in the 90's, many poor and underprivileged Americans have yet to use the Internet to it's full potential. There are many advantages of broadband for social and economic use, such as online education, job-seeking, and information about social problems, such as domestic violence and drug abuse. While the United States should not, perhaps, go as far as to proclaim broadband "a right," we would be well off to ensure that access is as wide-spread and affordable as possible, including building the infrastructure for free wi-fi in poor urban areas. That would give adults and children alike access to jobs and education that these communities desperately need to change the current economic conditions.