Hi Pedrosa, I think the idea of cable TV where I live is mad. The nearest town is 50 KM away. The telephone/internet connection I have is deplorable, The Australian government has spent $60 billion dollars on a national broadband network that doesn`t work. When I go to the shops very often I can`t pay for the goods I want because the telecom connection to my bank isn`t working! The idea that I should pay to get TV through an already overworked and useless telecom network is my idea of insanity!
As for trying to live off grid, it`s very similar to trying to live on grid. The power outages and unreliable service dictate that all homes here require a back up generator. When the power goes out, as it regularly does, I have diesel generators and sufficient fuel to keep me going for weeks. The food in my fridge and deep freezer stay edible. There are some families that live around here that do not have generators, when the power dies they loose everything, guess what, it`s not the responsibility of the power provider!
The thing that really winds me up is that when there is a power outage or a telecommunication failure I have to report it to get it fixed. No surprise that the local telephone exchange relies on power from the electric grid. When the power drops out I can`t phone anyone to complain! The same stupidity applies to telecom companies that believe that the best way to report a problem with your internet connection is to send them an email, just how I am supposed to do that without an internet connection is a total mystery to me!
The same applies to telecom towers, they are powered off the local power grid, if it fails so do they.
Your suggestion that mankind needs to communicate is valid but where I live it is much more important to communicate with your neighbors than the rest of the world. I stopped working in the information technology sector because I realized that social media and online networking was destroying our power to communicate with those closest to us. I know families that send each other emails while they are all sat in the same room!
As for the number of deaths on the roads caused by people feeling obliged to answer their phone or read a message, while driving, just because it might be important. How would you feel answering a call from some scam artist then looking back to the road to see that you have just run over an innocent pedestrian?
This whole telecom issue is not about communication, it is about making money for the telco`s. I ran a business in the UK, for twenty years, with nothing more than a phone line and a fax machine, if I needed to talk to someone I went to see them!
Rant over for now.
Bob