One question nobody is asking...

[aardvark15]

For some people, bitcoin will just be like western union.  Convert from fiat to bitcoin and send to another part of the world and then convert back.  In fact western union could do this without the customer even knowing.  Banks could use bitcoin in a similar way.  I just think bitcoin can be used along with other currencies.

[spb25]

to be a miner you need reliable and constant internet... and millions of dollars invested in equipment. and so if you can afford the ASICS then getting a couple satalite units tethered together is no issue

to be a full node requires reliable and constant internet... and the desire and motivation to not just be a user but to be a dedicated part of the network. there is no reason for everyone to be dedicated. and with an estimated 2mill people only 0.3% are running nodes. so i would say 0.3%-1% is a sufficient about of decentralized distribution ongoing.

as for regular users. if you have no internet then you wont know, want or need bitcoin. but even if you have basic internet just to write stuff on this forum. then you have enough internet capability to run a phone app/lite client.

Never mind. This is the exact mindset that I am talking about.

[spb25]

I somewhat agree with the OP....I live in the mountains of California so there are places that are blacked out completely.  However, we're talking about the United States here with it's somewhat unique economical system.  We pay for what we want here....so, satellite service, while available in most areas, is costly.  In other regions of the world their economic system is different, so many have access to the internet via satellite or local "hotspots" which are provided to them by their economic structure.  There are also foundations, such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which not only provide satellite access in these regions but also provide the devices to connect to them as well.

So, yes, there are many spots in the US where access to the internet is precarious, but that's mostly a result of our economic system.  The world is pretty much blanketed by satellite service....whether or not one utilizes that service is just a matter of economics.  The same with prescription drugs in the US; they are available to us here in the US with a huge overhead, but they're cheap, if not free, in other regions.  The fact that internet service is difficult for some of us to connect to in the US is further evidence that our economic system needs to be decentralized.

Yes, that is the first part of what I was saying. However, the second part was that even IF a person gets access to the internet, the convincing it will take to get people to turn their paycheck into a QR code will be near impossible in the foreseeable future.

There is YOUR world, and there is the non connected world. I am arguing that the non connected/ intimidated world is much larger than people on this forum believe.

[kyrios_]

I doubt that full internet connectivity is required to let Bitcoin take off. look at how large the connected world is, Bitcoin has so much untapped customers in that area, why venture into new areas when there is an untapped reserve around. before we can talk about educating relative less developed countries on the beauty of bitcoin, we should target more technologically savvy people first. Even amongst users of the Internet not many know, use or trust bitcoins

[spb25]

to be a miner you need reliable and constant internet... and millions of dollars invested in equipment. and so if you can afford the ASICS then getting a couple satalite units tethered together is no issue

to be a full node requires reliable and constant internet... and the desire and motivation to not just be a user but to be a dedicated part of the network. there is no reason for everyone to be dedicated. and with an estimated 2mill people only 0.3% are running nodes. so i would say 0.3%-1% is a sufficient about of decentralized distribution ongoing.

as for regular users. if you have no internet then you wont know, want or need bitcoin. but even if you have basic internet just to write stuff on this forum. then you have enough internet capability to run a phone app/lite client.

This response kind of bothers me. I'd like to ask you to stop and imagine a person that has never used the internet. Now imagine that they were to read what you just wrote.

This is why it will be many many more years before non techies even consider BTC. This was the exact point of my post. I feel like people on this forum live on another planet. You can joke all you want, but if BTC is going to rise in price, it is the non techie that needs to be convinced to use BTC. You guys are pushing people away and you don't even realize it.

[franky1]

Never mind. This is the exact mindset that I am talking about.

at one part of your OP you are talking with the mindset of a one world currency. which in and of itself is not a good thing. choice and freedom is better. so trying to force people to get the internet and then force them to use bitcoin wont work.

bitcoin is already 150 of 200 real currencies of the world based on market cap. and its achieving this not by becoming a dominent currency, not by becoming a government used currency(fiat). and not by using pressure.

for instance in africa the majority of their economy IS based on cellular phone access to funds (mpesa). so bitcoin can work even in third world countries

there are over 1 billion mobile broadband (3g/4g) connections in the world and 5 billion cell phones with active lines in the world.
http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/mobile-phone-world-population-2014/

there are over 3.1billion internet subscriptions
http://www.statista.com/statistics/273018/number-of-internet-users-worldwide/

so try not to think that bitcoin only has usage to 1% of the world. it has potential of 50% of the world.

This response kind of bothers me. I'd like to ask you to stop and imagine a person that has never used the internet. Now imagine that they were to read what you just wrote.

This is why it will be many many more years before non techies even consider BTC. This was the exact point of my post. I feel like people on this forum live on another planet. You can joke all you want, but if BTC is going to rise in price, it is the non techie that needs to be convinced to use BTC. You guys are pushing people away and you don't even realize it.

and to get to your point. if all you care about is the FIAT valuation of bitcoin, then thats just a speculative user and not a true bitcoin user.
anyone who just wants to hold a currency purely for future profits can find a numerous amount of other assets to invest in.

bitcoins users should not be trying to push users into bitcoin out of promises of riches. but on its real utility. the deflationary nature is just a bonus.

so if you tweak your mindset and realise that todays 2million of 7billion (0.028%) has alot of potential for growth for speculators, as i said 0.028 to 50% is alot of multiples 2000x infact. so relax on the speculation.

and instead think about the utility.

getting people into bitcoin does not need to blind them with science of mining or c++ code. you just need to tell them to down load an app from circle, coinbase etc to buy in and then use a different app to secure the funds and use them without the corporate control.

[spb25]

Never mind. This is the exact mindset that I am talking about.

at one part of your OP you are talking with the mindset of a one world currency. which in and of itself is not a good thing. choice and freedom is better. so trying to force people to get the internet and then force them to use bitcoin wont work.

bitcoin is already 150 of 200 real currencies of the world based on market cap. and its achieving this not by becoming a dominent currency, not by becoming a government used currency(fiat). and not by using pressure.

for instance in africa the majority of their economy IS based on cellular phone access to funds (mpesa). so bitcoin can work even in third world countries

there are over 1 billion mobile broadband (3g/4g) connections in the world and 5 billion cell phones with active lines in the world.
http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/mobile-phone-world-population-2014/

there are over 3.1billion internet subscriptions
http://www.statista.com/statistics/273018/number-of-internet-users-worldwide/

so try not to think that bitcoin only has usage to 1% of the world. it has potential of 50% of the world.

You have absolutely no idea what my point was because you are so wrapped up inside it. You are living in a VERY small community, and I am saying that the rest of us aren't even close yet.

[cjmoles]

I somewhat agree with the OP....I live in the mountains of California so there are places that are blacked out completely.  However, we're talking about the United States here with it's somewhat unique economical system.  We pay for what we want here....so, satellite service, while available in most areas, is costly.  In other regions of the world their economic system is different, so many have access to the internet via satellite or local "hotspots" which are provided to them by their economic structure.  There are also foundations, such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which not only provide satellite access in these regions but also provide the devices to connect to them as well.

So, yes, there are many spots in the US where access to the internet is precarious, but that's mostly a result of our economic system.  The world is pretty much blanketed by satellite service....whether or not one utilizes that service is just a matter of economics.  The same with prescription drugs in the US; they are available to us here in the US with a huge overhead, but they're cheap, if not free, in other regions.  The fact that internet service is difficult for some of us to connect to in the US is further evidence that our economic system needs to be decentralized.

Yes, that is the first part of what I was saying. However, the second part was that even IF a person gets access to the internet, the convincing it will take to get people to turn their paycheck into a QR code will be near impossible in the foreseeable future.

Necessity will bring that change....When options are limited as they are in less fortunate regions around the world, bitcoin will be adopted out of pure necessity or economic advantage.  We have several alternatives to choose from in the US so it's not necessary to adopt bitcoin yet.  That's not the case in other regions due to hyperinflation or other factors.

There is YOUR world, and there is the non connected world. I am arguing that the non connected/ intimidated world is much larger than people on this forum believe.

That's what I'm counting on and that's what gives us the advantage as early adopters.  Early bird gets the worm!  Smile!!

[7788bitcoin]

I am not too worry about this. If anyone wants to be connected, it is very easy to get internet to anywhere in the world. Although speed maybe limited, we only need very slow speed for bitcoin transactions to be broadcasted!

As for the unbanked populations, it will be much easier to bring internet to them, compared to bring the Banks to them.

[stacksofcoin]

So my question is,
How can this technology benefit the "unbanked" in developing countries within the next several years? Really, how close are we to smart contracts and self driving cars and a sustainable BTC price of >$1000?

Too funny for words.

You actually have some reasonable answers here from members of the bitcoin community that you simply ignore for fear of oversimplifying your own nonsense argument about self-driving cars and people writing checks.

Is your issue with bitcoin, or is there no support line for your phone company?

[Pursuer]

I live in a developing country, yet we have access to the internet from anywhere in the country through 3G/4G mobile internet with a good connection speed. besides for spending bitcoin you will need to be in a shop, shops also can have wireless internet connection which you can connect to.
besides a tx size is so small (couple of KB) that you can send it with any slow connection.

and about the fact that not everybody has smartphones or people in rural areas of Africa (as you put it) don't trust putting their money in bitcoin, I have to say they don't trust things like PayPal, and sometimes even credit cards but this doesn't mean PayPal and credit cards are failing. the rest of the world is using them.
a new technology always reaches some parts of the world later than other parts.

[Kakmakr]

I've got family in Africa. You'd be pretty goddamn amazed where great coverage appears. I agree that it's kinda shitty in a lot of places but that's gonna change.

I also travel into these areas too for contract work, and I am amazed at how strong the cellular networks are in these areas. Smartphones are becoming cheaper and more affordable and these people just love their phones and spend a large portion of their income on communication.

A company like 21 Inc will also come up with a solution for the unbanked in collaboration with bigger companies like Google and the Bill Gates foundation. ^smile^

[Jet Cash]

I understand that the US is way behind with Internet access. Some of the growth areas for Bitcoin are in Africa and other countries that people consider to be 3rd world. They seem to have reasonable cell phone coverage. Banking in the US is still way behind other countries as well. I've just sold a domain name for dollars, and the most practical way to accept payment is by cheque, which takes about 3 weeks to clear. I asked for Bitcoin, but the vendor didn't know about it.

[btcxyzzz]

In order for BTC to take off it will require one basic component that does not exist yet... reliable and affordable mobile internet EVERYWHERE.

It's already everywhere through 3G/4G services. What is killing Bitcoin right now is capacity and Blockstream keeping it down. Ethereum's gonna have bigger market cap soon, Bitcoin is done thanks to selfish interests fuelled by Bilderberg money.

[animalspirit]

I've got family in Africa. You'd be pretty goddamn amazed where great coverage appears.  

Not just wide coverage but cheap too!   Want just a couple dozen MB of data service?   Pay $0.25 for a scratch-off code and you got it!

[SFR10]

Well although I also agree with most points so far, but having said that, were not that far as it seems to some. Most know google for doing some projects for bringing internet to those who are in zones out of range but that's not it. Some of the countries are in process of providing free internet on most routes they could afford to (which mostly will be used for self driven cars) but could also be used for citizens normal surfing too. The real problem is certainly the internet but that again is something that only governments could control so it's never going to be a smooth one.

[pooya87]

how about using bitcoin debit cards or something similar to that?

i don't like it since you would have to go through a third party for using your bitcoin but it is a solution for situations where there is no internet access in your city! which honestly sounds strange to me since there is all kinds of internet coverage from mobile to wireless.

[M83]

That's what I thought. Everyone is going to spot read what I wrote and simplify it. Read the last part. My argument is NOT about the internet service alone.

Let me spell it out...

Getting and using the internet is just the first step in a several year long process. Those that had AOL dial up in 1995, started using online banking in 2000. If they didn't get internet access until 2000, then they didn't start online banking until 2005. Do I need to continue?

The internet access was only one part of the delay.

Technology moves and gets adopted much faster these days and continues to grow. Just look at the technology in mobile phones and TVs and how we've gone from these basic devices with one function to having powerful computers in them. Most of the concerns people have are similar to what people said about debit cards and mobile phones etc etc. Bitcoin probably wont work in 100% of the world but neither do phones and debit cards but the technology to spread internet and mobile phone networks worlwide is already there and companies are working on remote parts of the world in Africa etc. I think I read they might even get some sort of internet for free eventually (though it will come with ads most likely).

[RodeoX]

You may be surprised at how common fast internet is in less developed countries. It is not as easy here in the U.S. when you get outside of cities, but I travel a lot to very remote places, and while you you won't find a landline, you will have access via cell towers. It really is more common than in remote parts of the U.S.

For example on a trip to the Darien Gap I was shocked to find a cell tower in Jaque. The Darien is so remote that more people climb mount Everest each year than cross the gap. Yet even in a town with no connecting roads (you must fly there) you could get some internet service. Another example I saw last year in the Jordanian desert was when a guy I rented camels from whipped out his phone and had bitcoins!! In the middle of the desert?!

[hikedoon]

The OP should take it up with Obama.
I don't see why it's the forum's problem that America's internet access is shite.
The rest of the world's internet access is expanding rapidly.