Rural
Internet access
| This material has been produced by the Royal Society of New Zealand (RSNZ)
under contract to the Ministry of Education. It has been written to assist teachers
and schools in their delivery of the technology/ hangarau curriculum statements.
The project is jointly coordinated by personnel from the Technology Education
New Zealand (TENZ)
and National Association of Māori Mathematicians, Scientists and Technologists
(NAMMSAT) networks. Monitoring and evaluation of the material is carried out
by a national project advisory group. |
News
An article in the New Zealand Herald of 8 October 2001 drew attention to problems
with Internet access in rural areas. It seems that the 2000 Ministerial inquiry
into telecommunications found that the speed and reach of dial-up Internet services
in rural areas were being significantly limited by interference from electric
fences. The Government has seen the problem as being serious enough to form
a working group including representatives from Federated Farmers, the electric-fence
industry, and Telecom, - to look into the problems and try to find practical
solutions.
One of the findings of the group pointed to problems with electric fences near
telecommunications cables being not properly installed or maintained.
The group is looking to prepare guidelines on suitable electric fence design
and operational standards near existing telecommunications cables. It is also
planning to mount a publicity campaign showing farmers how to correctly install
and maintain electric fences near cables. In addition the different types of
modems in use have also been studied and it seems that some been found to perform
significantly better in a "noisy" electrical environment.
Ideas
for classroom use
This article draws attention to a problem which is emerging in rural areas
of New Zealand. It is associated with poor installation and maintenance of electric
fences - that is, a problem resulting from what appears to be bad practice.
It is a "problem" which will have existed for a long period of time - but which
is now becoming a serious inconvenience to some people due to increased demand
for Internet access.
In this case the group has identified bad practice as a significant issue and
has looked to address it by developing appropriate guidelines and mounting a
publicity campaign. A technology class could consider the various stakeholder
groups in this issue and consider what the key factors would be in the design
of an effective publicity campaign. A brief could then be developed for the
campaign.
Other examples, both in a rural and an urban setting, where problems are emerging
as a consequence of bad practice could also be explored.
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