EXCERPT: “Every Sunday since the coronavirus lockdown started, Stephanie Anstey drives 20 minutes from her home in Grottoes, Virginia, to sit in her school’s near-empty parking lot and type away on her laptop. Anstey, a middle school history teacher, lives in a valley between two mountains, where the only available home internet option is a satellite connection. Her emails can take 30 seconds to load, only to quit mid-message. She can’t even open files on Google Drive, let alone upload lesson modules or get on a Zoom call with colleagues . . . More than 18 million Americans — about 5.6 percent of the US population — lack access to high-speed internet, according to the Federal Communications Commission. (Many technology experts dispute the agency’s figures — the company BroadbandNow says the real number is more than double that.) Pockets of poor connectivity can be found in both small towns and cities, particularly in low-income urban areas. But those living in rural areas and tribal lands are especially likely to have slower speeds, spottier coverage and fewer internet service providers to choose from — forcing people like Anstey to travel to cafes, libraries and parking lots for a reliable connection.” FULL STORY: https://fluence-media.co/3cVbNto
