Is broadband Internet a basic human right?

The latest Leadership McCook class stopped by the Gazette office Wednesday on a tour of local businesses, and the topic naturally turned to technology.

Just how much has the Internet changed the newspaper business?

The question might as well have been: Just how much has the Internet changed life in general?

There's no doubt the World Wide Web has changed everything about the newspaper industry, from how news is gathered, to how it is disseminated, to what constitutes news, who consumes it and who your competitors are. Yes, there are challenges, but there just as many opportunities, provided we find a way to take advantage of them.

It's been about 20 years since the Internet first arrived in Southwest Nebraska, and the younger we are, the less we can imagine life without it. It's grown from a novelty for techno-geeks to a way of life for everyone from pre-schoolers to great-grandparents, and it's becoming increasingly difficult to function without it. Whether searching for a bargain, filing income taxes, keeping in touch with friends or conducting business, our everyday lives depend on this electronic link to the outside world.

Internet access has almost become a human right.

Almost? Not if you live in France or Finland.

Earlier this year, France's Constitutional Council ruled that Internet access is a basic human right.

Finland's Ministry of Transport and Communications took it one step farther, declaring 1-megabit broadband Web access a legal right.

It's no surprise that Finland, home to the ubiquitous Nokia brand, would be well-wired -- a defense against brutal Nordic winters if nothing else.

But the Finnish government has gone so far as declaring that 100Mb Internet access would become a legal right by 2015.

It will be a little hard to achieve in far-flung corners of the country, they admit, but they're willing to make the investment in order to maintain their technological lead.

After 20 years, Southwest Nebraska and Northwest Kansas are pretty well wired, but we would be wise to keep up with the broadband capabilities needed to maintain our competitiveness.