It's not that there aren't offline alternatives for these, but they require maintaining an expensive infrastructure of buildings and people. It's going to be cheaper for everyone in the long run if we can move everybody to doing things over the Internet.
Really? Have you tried your bank's website over dialup? Or a typical bill pay site? (DSL typically meets the 2Mb or greater threshold, so it qualifies as broadband by your definition.)
Ah yes, you can use it for trivial things, so let's totally ignore all the crucial information and services that are only available on the internet. That seems reasonable.
Although “broadband” has always been a moving target, I think it is reasonable to say that essential services won't require gigabit internet access in the next decade or so.
> I think it is reasonable to say that essential services won't require gigabit internet access in the next decade or so.
And 640k should be enough for anybody.
I know as tech people we're inclined to think that more tech can always fix the world's problems. But that's a venus project type of fly-trap, and we must be careful not to fall for it!
How long did it take for electricity to be considered a necessity? And I'm legitimately curious how much of a factor radio was in motivating people to make the switch...