Broadband Changing Lives

The following are examples of submissions we have received.

From Cynthia:

How hasn't broadband changed my life? I live far from family and many of my friends, but I feel so much closer to them because my high-speed internet connection allows me to stay in touch with them through email, which brings me their manuscripts, anecdotes, videos and photographs. I probably would not have bought my house if I had not had the comfort of remaining connected to all my loved ones. I adore seeing their movies and photos, let alone sharing crazy stories or jokes via the internet.

In my professional life, I use Google to research the historical novels I write. While online research cannot completely replace books, its ability to offer images previously unavailable to scholars without painstaking, expensive searches seems invaluable. I also buy and sell items on ebay on a personal and business basis. Ebay provides me an incredible source of vintage, rare beads for my jewelry design business. The savings of time, natural resources and trouble cannot be calculated.

I completed my doctoral research a year or so before the internet really took off. I am constantly astonished as to how much time I would have saved had I been able to use high-speed connections, instead of those painfully slow dial-up connections we used to suffer through. My project included art works and novels, so access to these fast connections would have made an enormous difference. Likewise, when I was teaching college art history, I relied upon a high-speed connection to gather images of art works at home and in school.

Having lived through some outages recently, as well as having visited friends who still use dial-up, I can attest to the fact that I cannot conduct my business, let alone my personal life, without broadband. Friends in Vermont are still fighting to have access to this valuable service, so I can't even send them graphics-heavy content in emails, let alone links to great graphic-heavy websites. For their sake, as well as for millions across the world, we owe it to ourselves to offer broadband to a wider range of people.

From Marian in UT:

Broadband has changed my life by bringing peace and serenity to our home. With my family now mostly grown up, we usually have at least four computers logged on to the internet at the same time, sometimes more. My 17 year old son does homework, talks with friends, and games online. He frequently has gaming parties in our home. He has three to five friends come over with their computers, and they all play 'War-Craft' online. Meanwhile, my husband brings his laptop home from work and takes care of email, communicates with his employees, and also games online. While all this is going on, my 25 year old daughter is communicating with her friends online. I am also online doing my home business, emailing, shopping and surfing. None of this would be possible without Broadband. Without broadband, my son would be at someone else's house and the rest of us would be frustrated and irritated while fighting for a piece of bandwidth. Thank you, broadband!

From Cindy in CA:

I am a single parent who is working and going to college. This is a logistical nightmare, for there are not enough hours in a day for me! Broadband internet has helped tremendously, for several of my prerequisite nursing classes are available online. This has freed up countless hours. Instead of scrambling for daycare and driving to and from the college campus, I can sit outside with my laptop, and wireless router, watch my children play as I am attending classes! The extremely fast broadband internet service in my area contributes greatly to the speed and efficiency of this.

From Lisa in WV:

High speed internet has literally changed my life. I am a mother of two wonderful boys and soon to be grandmother. I was employed full time at a bank in my area. I am not quite sure where the old saying "bankers hours" came from, but they obviouly didn't apply to me. I was working 45-50 hours a week 6 days a week. I was missing a lot of important milestones in my sons life and was feeling extremely tied down to my job. I always wanted to be a full time mother and a part time worker, but really felt the roles were reversed. Thank goodness for my high speed internet. I was able to find several legitimate work at home opportunities and now am happily working from home. I set my own schedule and I have so much more time to enjoy the "little things" that make life worthwhile. I would be unable to perform my jobs with dial up internet service. One of the requirements is high speed internet. As you can see, high speed internet has changed my life and the life of my family for the better. We are closer than ever and we now have freedom to spend more time together and my youngest son never has to go to a babysitter. What an awesome job perk! If he is sick, I am always here and the list goes on. I am very thankful for this opportunity and I am actual doubling my salary from the bank. My family is extremely pleased with our current situation and again, it could not be accomplished without high speed internet.

From Pat in WA:

Broadband has actually made my life. I worked for 10 years for a non-profit. As most of us know that when working for a non-profit you job is from budget-to-budget. In 2006 I was laid off from my career as a one-stop employment and training lead/computer instructor. I was devastated. I know own my own business Pat Cort's Word Processing & Computer Training in Kittitas, WA.

I have been through the dial-up, the slow process of being bumped off of the Internet to the wonders of broadband. In reality you could say that without broadband, I would not be where I am today. I use it on a daily basis for research, transmitting documents, receiving documents, correspondence all over the world. Broadband has built my business, my life, my security, and yes, I occasionally fit in a game of SCRABBLE for pleasure.

Broadband has allowed me to learn with distance learning. I am currently enrolled in a "Court Reporters" training online. It allows me to teach others what I have learned through broadband. Yes, I have a life but without broadband my life would not be as rich and full of hope for success in my business that includes "Broadband".

I could go on and on but in a nutshell, without broadband.....what can I say?

From Stephen in NC:

Growing up can be a pain for anyone, but it is most definitely a pain growing up with slow, or no, internet.
Now I know what you are thinking: "What a spoiled brat! I can't believe he doesn't admit to the luxury that is broadband!" I don't admit to it, because broadband isn't a luxury anymore, it is a necessity.

My family isn't exactly a perfect one: a 12-hour shift working father; a disable mother; a brother who has been to Iraq and is soon to return; a sister who has two children by the early age of 17. However, we are a loving, caring, and beautiful family; however early on we were a family with no, or extremely slow, internet.

Dial-up was all we had when I was in middle school. Papers, research, leisure: all under the hammer of 56kbs. In all honesty while I have grown up I have simply become nerdier and nerdier. I love books; I love the internet--supposedly two of the nerdiest things in the world. My first love, though, was easily dismantled by the limitations of my schools and the fact I couldn't get to public libraries due to disabled and indifferent parents.

That's where broadband really showed its colors. Throughout high school my mind literally re-became the child sponge that it once was. I sat in my room day and night and just soaked up knowledge. Random tid-bits of information that no one else knew or wanted to know. I grew and grew until I finally realized that I was a smart guy, and needed to go on to college: a thing the rest of my family thought preposterous, for none of them had ever gone.

So here I sit now, typing this story in my dorm room at Appalachian State University. I can't say that I wouldn't be here if it weren't for the internet, and a quick broadband connection to boot, but I assure you the gateway of possibilities broadband opened should not be ignored: an increase in academic studies, social growth, and even artistic expression. All of these things are possible through broadband internet, and I have been a part of it. I am glad I am where I am, and I know that broadband is just one example of many of what got me here.

From Jen in CA:

Raising a family on one income is no small challenge. Neither is keeping up with all the curiosity of small children. But with the advent of the internet and, further, broadband connectivity, our family benefits from a world of resources and communications tools at our fingertips.
I quit my full-time writing gig when our first daughter was born, but with the internet in place and the speed of broadband, my writing career was far from over. From my home office, I've been able to regularly supplement my husband's regular income. In the few hours that my children sleep, I carry on my research and writing, communicate with sources and editors around the globe, and submit stories for publication all while still attending to the needs of my family.

After the birth of our second child, the speed with which broadband internet capability provided access to a world of information helped me research for my first book, learn about publishing, and ultimately turn out a completed product. That first book paid off the second loan on our home.

We are also educating our children at home, and it's amazing the questions these girls raise! Where years ago I turned to a reference librarian across town who may or may not have had the answer, or, later, brushed my teeth and put on my pajamas while waiting for a web page to come across the modem, today we turn to experts around the world from the comfort of our own home in a matter of seconds.

Our children are excelling. My career is excelling. Our family is thriving.

Would that have happened at 2400 baud? Absolutely not.

Broadband has saved my career, our finances and opened up a world of opportunity for our children.

From Joanne in NV:

I remember black and white movies, the ice man, and life before TV, . I do not readily embrace new technology so I never held a mouse in my hand until I retired in 1999 and bought myself a computer. Then I moved from Connecticut to Nevada found Broadband and new ways. I rarely watch TV so my information comes from newspapers and the internet. It happens and I know it. Could I do that without Broadband? No. I just started a myspace page and my Granddaughter is helping me construct it from VA. Could I do that without Broadband? No. I can communicate with friends, and loved ones with speed. Could I do that without Broadband? Yes, but I could not communicate so often with so many. Sometimes things that happen need to be shared with many as quickly as possible and Broadband makes that happen for me. I can live without TV, without a microwave, or a dishwasher, but not without Broadband. How did Broadband impact my life? My relationship with my granddaughter is closer because of Broadband. Think about it. I'm 68 years old and getting a myspace page. I shop on Amazon.com eBay.com, pay with PayPal. This is my life and I love it. Broadband is there for me. Broadens my horizons, brightens my day. Wouldn't want to go backward. Not to dialup or the ice man.

From Andrew in CA:
 
Have you ever tried to do a full Linux system update on dial-up? It's just plain painful to watch. I think the last time I did that it took 3 days or so. Now on a broadband connection I can run the update while at the same time being able to do other tasks like checking my email and watch a Netflix movie online too. Wow, what a difference!

From Joanne in MO:

Getting broadband has allowed me to stay in my home and work part-time from home. Living in a small community with no public transportation and not being able to drive on the highway, it has made it possible for me to keep my home, pay my bills and live independently. Without such a service, I would not have been able to earn enough money to live on and it would have forced me to sell my home and move to another city. I cannot imagine living without broadband now. My life would be so different - and much worse - if I could not work from home, which broadband allows me to do.

From Vinnie in Rhode Island:

Last week with my wife, daughter, son-in-law and grandchildren present, I accepted a pair of Associate in Science Degrees at Washtenaw Community College (WCC), Ann Arbor, MI. This would not be so extraordinary save for the fact we all live in Rhode Island. Completing these college degrees may have been virtually impossible to do without broadband internet access. Key to the successful completion of this phase of college education was the ability to take several courses online with WCC. In addition to traditional classrooms I also completed many of the core courses for the degree through Interactive Television,using broadband DSL connections. This amounted to live, real time, classrooms interconnected in UA Plumber and Pipefitter union halls in different states of the U.S. The use of these modern technologies allows the interaction of students, professors and peer professionals in ways unimaginable just a few years ago. From here these same technologies are allowing the pursuit of a Bachelor of Arts degree in Labor Education with the National Labor College, Silver Spring, MD. Broadband technology has allowed for the exponential growth of the education process.  

From Phil in Kentucky:

In 2005, my wife and I discovered that we were expecting quadruplets. When we found that the medical community in our area wasn't qualified to take on such a monumental birth experience, we decided to temporarily transplant to Phoenix, to have the pregnancy and the babies under the care of some world-renowned specialists.

As soon as we got to Phoenix, we called our local cable company and got broadband hooked up in the little rental house where we were staying. It was the best decision that I've ever made in my life.

Because our babies came much much earlier than expected (all under 2 pounds) they were all in very critical condition, and everything happened fast. Because we had broadband, we were able to send and receive messages like lightning, and to have people praying for us and knowing what was going on with us 2000 miles away.

When everyone was healthy and we got back to the eastern U.S., we got broadband hooked up immediately and resumed updates and correspondence with friends, family and people that we had met along the way.

We can't imagine what our life would have been like without broadband--we live in a fast-paced world where we don't have time to sit around waiting for a connection, or uploads, or downloads. Broadband changed our life!

From Chris in Ohio:

A few years ago, I realized that my life was being drawn toward Ministry. I soon realized that an education would be in order. There was an obstacle to reaching my destination. How could I go to school and earn a degree in ministry unless I picked up my family and moved to a Christian college? Not only would I be walking away from a good job myself but I would be uprooting our entire family. My parents and my wife's parents are both from the area we live so it would have been difficult on all of us.

I then learned about a school in Florida that had placed a number of its programs on line. I checked it all out and discovered that I could actually obtain an accredited BA in Church Ministry from this school. At the time, I was on dial up and had resisted going to high speed because of the price at the time. Just a few days in to my first semester I realized that I was going to be spending a lot of time waiting on web pages to load if we didn't break down and spend the money on high speed access. We ordered service and have had it since. I am now entering my fifth year of classes and it has been an amazing experience. Thanks to high speed access, I'm able to do my research, post papers and projects as well as interact with other students and teachers. The school itself will say that "high speed access is not mandatory but it sure does help.

In another couple years, I should emerge with a BA in Transformational Christian Ministry. Without high speed access, I'm not sure what we would have done. It would have created an issue in our lives and caused us to have to leave the only home we have ever known.

From Ann in Georgia:

I'm a visual artist with a website that I use as an online gallery to display my paintings. Broadband allows me to transfer larger image files to galleries and customers faster, saving us all huge amounts of time and expense. Before broadband, I had to take film photos of my work, have them developed, mail them for approval, and then wait for a response. Sometimes a month could go by by waiting for the USPS to do its job. Broadband also comes in very handy when working on a commission as I can sketch in my ideas, e-mail them, get instant approval so I can start work on the actual painting the next day. This literally makes it possible to work from my studio that can be anywhere. Before, I had to live where I painted, which was New Orleans. Now, with so many displaced people, they can order their favorite New Orleans subject matter without either of us "having to" get together over cafe' au lait and beignets....Broadband does leave some things to be desired.

From Ragani in Wisconsin:

My goodness, I never thought I'd be writing the praise of computer technology! In the 80's I lived without any television, and I still don't own a cell phone or microwave. But I'm thankful (daily!) for broadband! I live on my computer with the work I do, and my husband loves to game-- can you imagine trying to game with dial up??! I send TONS of HUGE files (I'm a recording artist) to companies that use our music for downloads and commercial recordings. Would that even be possible with Dial up? Nope. Life is just so much better with faster transfer of information-- if I'm surfing the world wide web, I don't even wait anymore for websites that are slow to load. Broadband internet connection is just so much more professional, and it not only saves me TONS of time and frustration, it also allows others to find my website a lot faster, and to download files that we offer for visitors (and we get over 400,000 hits/month on our website). Browsing my 500+ page website  would take f-o-r-e-v-e-r with dial up.

My parents and sister still have dial up. I feel sorry for them. I visit them, and it's like I'm in the dark ages. I can't share the funny YouTube videos with them. In fact, I can't share any online video with them. Because they don't have broadband, and no video is fun (or funny) with chopped up frames and audio. When I win this prize I want to send them some money to get hooked up to broadband internet access. It will change their lives (and maybe they'll use their e-mail and write back to me more often too).  

From Diane in California:

Broadband gave me wings. I am a physically disabled pastor in a small rural area. Broadband let me compare, spec and purchase a power wheelchair. Since my insurance won't pay, saving $3000 was very important to me. Broadband helps me serve my community. I am able to share sermon, music and Bible study resources with pastors all over the world. Broadband keeps me connected to my family: I can e-mail and chat with my uncle and cousins in Arizona, my daughter, son-in-law and grandson in Louisiana, my aunt in Illinois, and my AFS kids in Norway, Thailand and China. Broadband brings the world marketplace to me. We are three hours to the nearest WalMart - odd how that has become an illustration of how remote we are. I can buy fair-trade coffee and merchandise, computers and printers, clothing and pet supplies, all without leaving the house. Broadband lets me help the world. I support an AIDS orphan in Uganda and charities worldwide. Broadband gives me a voice. I can petition world leaders and my elected officials here at home. Broadband allows me to be all I can be.

From David in Alabama:

The Year was 2000. My wife had been diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma Cancer. We did a lot of research over the internet on her condition and treatments. We did find out enough information to ask questions. When you here that you have something like this that you had never heard of, it helped us a lot to be able to find out all we could about it. She was treated and in remission for four years and then it returned in 2004. Our Doctor here where we live, referred us to Houston, TX, at M. D. Anderson Cancer Center for a Bone Marrow Stem Cell Transplant. The treatments and recovery took five months. That's how long we were in Houston. While we were there in Houston for that time, I was able to work from our hotel room and her hospital room on my lap top while I was connected to my work place back in Alabama via the internet and my company's network. It was just like setting in front of my computer back at work. I had access to all of my files and all of the resources of my company so I could work just like I was there. I could stay in contact with my supervisor and friends at work. By being able to do this, I lost very little time off my job while we were in Houston. I was able to be with my wife and have something to do with my time while she was laying in the bed. My company was very good to me by letting me work while I was away from home. My wife is doing well, and we are Blessed.

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All entries are posted as submitted to APT through the Broadband Changed My Life contest.  APT makes no claim and is not responsible for authenticity, accuracy, or originality of submitted content.  Please contact apt@apt.org to alert administrator of questionable content.