The edges of the Internet

This year it has been fun to retest the edges of the Internet. What I mean is "How easy is it to get on the Internet from various places?"

In May I took a trip to the Philippines (Philippines Videos) and was blown away at how easy it was to get Internet access everywhere. There were cost-effective Internet Cafe's all over the place. I was there from the 21st to the 31st, and travelled from Manila to Baguio, to Iloilo and Bacolod, and back to Manila. Internet was everywhere. Cheap and plentiful.

I'm posting this from the coast of Cuba, on the way to Labadee, Haiti. I'm aboard the Royal Caribbean Navigator of the Seas, and yes ... there is Internet. In fact, I'm on Wifi sitting in a lounge on the 14th deck looking out over the upper decks of the ship toward the distant horizon. Somewhere out there is Haiti. We'll get there sometime tomorrow morning ... I think.

Slowly but surely access to the Internet is reaching everywhere on earth. Everywhere. It was interesting to see that even cellular is reaching out ... there is a Cingular cell onboard the ship and so I have full strength cellular service and SMS text.

As technology continues to advance, wireless technologies improve, and business models support it ... the edges of the Internet are slowly going away. It is inevitable that when something like the Interent permeates the entire planet ... there are no longer any edges ... it simply becomes something that is.

[tags: internet cruise inevitable cuba haiti cellular cellphones wifi]