Internet access a “human right”?

Last year Finland became the first country in the world to make broadband a legal right of each citizen (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10461048). Few months later it was followed by Spain (http://thenextweb.com/eu/2009/11/19/finland-spain-broadband-legal/). A poll of the BBC World reveals that four in five people around the world believe internet access is a fundamental right (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8548190.stm).

In Europe this is easily achievable. But what about the rest of the world? A UN report from 2010 reveals that the “digital divide” is widening both in terms of access and in terms of cost (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-11162656). The Central African Republic, Ethiopia, Malawi, Guinea and Niger are the most expensive places with broadband access ranging from 10 to 40 times the average monthly income there. At the other end are Macao in China, Israel, Hong Kong, United States and Singapore, where the broadband access costs between 0,3 and 0,5% of the average monthly income in these countries. In Bulgaria this human right seems within reach as the cost is about 2-3% of the average monthly income. But Africa seems to fall short in achieving yet another human right.

“In the Cottage, Yet Industrious”

Having an interesting and important job, “saving the planet” has always been a priority for me. But with the arrival of my little daughter things have changed. Working from home, and even better, from my second home – my mountain cottage – seems just the right thing.

Studies on teleworking (http://www.eto.org.uk/faq/faq03.htm) suggest it provides a number of benefits: it saves costs for premises; it increases productivity as teleworkers avoid travel time and the interruptions of an office environment; it improves employees’ motivation, it increases organisations’ resilience in the face of external disruption such as transport strikes, severe weather and natural disasters. Teleworkers enjoy better work-family balance, reduced travel time and costs, flexible hours and increased job opportunities as they are not confined to a geographical location. On a more general scale teleworking reduces traffic congestion and urban pollution.

It is now easier than ever to take care of business no matter where you are, says the New York Times in “In the Cottage, Yet Industrious”. With a computer, internet access and a few telecommuting tools one can work from wherever his second home may be. “Cloud computing with web applications” allows using files and applications stored and run on the web. Thus if a report has to be reviewed by multiple colleagues, you can upload it to Google Docs and share it, and always have access to the latest version stored on the server. Or alternatively, “remote-access software” can tie you into your home or office computer directly and so you can work as if you’re in your office.

Not so easy from my cottage. I can only use mobile Internet access with limited traffic. And no wonder, as Bulgaria is on the last place in Europe with 33% of households in 2010 having Internet access, as reported by Eurostat (http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=STAT/10/193&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en).We are also on the last place in the European Union with only 1.6% of workers using teleworking at least a quarter of the time or more (http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/eiro/studies/tn0910050s/tn0910050s_3.htm). The good news is that this figure doubled since 2006 and that 62% of the households with children have Internet access. And I’m waiting to see teleworking become mainstream.