Lack of high-speed Internet hurts business
Connie Toops cannot do her job well because of her inability to get high-speed Internet access.
Connie is a freelance nature photographer, living in the mountains of western North Carolina. Recently interviewed by Megan Tady of Free Press as part of InternetforEveryone.org's latest project, Connie explained why she is at a disadvantage compared to photographers with high-speed Internet:
"The dial-up was adequate at first, but that was seven or eight years ago. Now with my job things have really speeded up as far as how people are expected to submit photography over the Internet. It requires a much faster connection and we just haven't kept pace."
This doesn't let Connie compete with other photographers. She explains:
"It's impossible to send out more than a megabyte at once and that's not large enough for a photo to [be used] in a book or a magazine. If I'm going to be posting more than several megabytes it's actually quicker for me to drive the half hour into town to go to the library, post for 10 minutes and drive home, than it would be to sit for two hours at home trying to post those same images."
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, nearly 40 percent of the U.S. population does not have high-speed Internet connections.
Stories like Connie's and the millions of others like hers show that the United States needs a strong public policy that will ensure that all American homes, businesses and communities have access to world-class Internet networks.
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