this post was submitted on 23 Apr 2025
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'They Sometimes Worry That I’m Dead Already:' Deep-Sea Fishers Fight for Wi-Fi (www.404media.co)
submitted 2 days ago by ptz@dubvee.org to c/technology@lemmy.world
22 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

Adrian Basar did not want to become a distant-water fisherman. With 22-hour workdays and pay of around 450 dollars per month, it’s not the most glamorous—or fulfilling, or generally safe—job.

But for 10 months out of the year, when he’s out at sea, Basar can’t talk to his siblings, or anyone in his family, because he’s not allowed to use the Wi-Fi on the ship.

“I think the companies that don’t want to put Wi-Fi on their ships pray for things not to be revealed,” Basar said. “There are many companies that don’t want Wi-Fi.”

A coalition between a self-organized Indonesian fishers’ union, a Taiwanese human rights group and multiple global labor organizations is trying to change that.

The “Wi-Fi Now for Fishers’ Rights” campaign, which has been organizing since 2023, wants to make Wi-Fi access a standard in the industry, both to help improve working conditions through union organizing and to allow the workers to have contact with other human beings for more than two months per year.

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[–] ryannathans@aussie.zone 58 points 2 days ago (6 children)

They should be asking for internet access rather than "WiFi", as WiFi is not synonymous with internet access

[–] captain_aggravated@sh.itjust.works 16 points 2 days ago

I've increasingly noticed this. It's irritating.

[–] LainTrain@lemmy.dbzer0.com 10 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

To normies of course it is, they don't even know what the innernette is, they know WiFi though. I've even seen people call their cellular signal "phone WiFi" or "5G WiFi" and refer to a Cat5 Ethernet cable as a "WiFi cable".

[–] rmuk@feddit.uk 28 points 2 days ago (1 children)

"Here's your WiFi. Oh, you want the password? Next you'll be asking for DHCP."

[–] InverseParallax@lemmy.world 18 points 2 days ago

Thank you professor stallman.

[–] Anomalocaris@lemm.ee 3 points 2 days ago

if language changes like that then the problem is that while what they want is clear, what they might get is just a WiFi router in the boat so they can have WiFi but no internet.

also, expecting everyone to be technologically literate is just plain stupid, especially in poorer countries.

[–] tal@lemmy.today 3 points 2 days ago (1 children)

On one hand, yes. On the other hand, on a cell phone on a boat in the middle of nowhere with no congestion in the airwaves, it's probably by far the most practical.

[–] ryannathans@aussie.zone 17 points 2 days ago

You can have WiFi without internet, as is the case on some boats and airplanes