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[av_heading heading=’FAITH, HOPE & CHARITY ‘ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=”]
BY IKE SEÑERES
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Agility and mobility
AGILITY is not the same as mobility because not everyone who is mobile is agile. That is a very obvious reality, but I still mentioned it, because it is my wish that sooner or later, perhaps in the near future, everyone who is mobile should also be agile.
To better understand what I mean, however, it is important to know the difference between a web browser and a mobile app. Both are downloadable, but the difference between the two lies in the fact that the functionalities of a mobile app becomes native to the device, whereas the sole function of a web browser is to enable the device to surf the internet, wherein the functionalities are not native to the web browser, but are residing instead in the websites that are being browsed. Web browsers may be installed in both computers and mobile phones, but mobile apps are only installed in the latter.
In a manner of speaking, it could be said that smartphones are both internet devices and mobile devices, but the difference between these two types of devices have practically thinned out. Although it could be said that smartphones could already be used as internet devices, that use is only possible if these devices could have access to data plans or WI-FI signals.
It goes without saying therefore that not unless a smartphone could have access to these two types of connectivity, it could only be used as a mobile device. This is actually what separates agility from mobility, because agility could only be possible with internet connectivity that is always available, whereas mobility could always happen for as long as the smartphone has a prepaid load or a postpaid plan.
As it has already turned out in the real world, there is really no universal access or equal access for everyone in terms of connectivity, because gaining access to both internet services and mobile services has become a function of money or affordability.
In the past, the so called digital divide tended to focus more on gaining access to devices, but now the issue has shifted to gaining access to connectivity. For a long time, the issue of the digital divide was actually an issue of the economic divide, because not everyone could afford to buy a computer. As it has already turned out however, everyone could now afford to buy a smartphone, thanks in part to the availability of affordable installment plans.
If only there was no digital divide or economic divide as the case may be, everyone would be able to enjoy the benefits of both agility and mobility. While these two divides may not yet disappear in the near future, there is hope that free internet may just be around the corner, because the internet business seems to be going to the same direction that the broadcasting business has taken.
What I mean is that sooner or later, internet access might be practically funded by advertising sponsors, in the same way that broadcast access has long been funded by advertising sponsors. Not too many people may have noticed it yet, but the free WI-FI access that is now available in many public places is already funded by advertising money.
You can tell if someone is agile or not, if he or she is able to immediately answer your email messages to him or her from her Android or Apple smartphone. Agile people have an advantage over those who are not, because they could work fast on the run, and they could respond to messages without waiting to access their computers at home or in the office. If they are engaged in business, they are able to respond to their clients quicker and they are able to get immediate results.
Obviously it is a good thing to have mobility, but it is even better to have agility. Knowing that having access to the internet at all times is a function of money, how I wish that everyone could have access without money being a hindrance.
Having access to the internet is not just an issue of need; it is also an issue of speed. In that context, it is also an issue of money because the more money one has the broader bandwidth he or she could get.
In the past, I used to be against the idea of the government having its own broadband network, but I have changed my mind as the players in this game have also changed their positions. We now hear the telecom companies saying that they could no longer do it on their own, because they now need the government to invest in that network. Conversely, the government has recently expressed a willingness to invest in that network, having the public interest in mind. I just hope that both sides can resolve this faster, because we all need faster internet as fast as we can./PN
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