What are the main challenges for policy makers today in their efforts to eliminate digital divides ?

520967- What are the main challenges for policy makers today in their efforts to eliminate digital divides ? Words 3250

This essay will consider the main challenges associated with

the digital divide and the work of policy makers in their

attempt to eradicate it. A definition will be offered and then

placed into a wider context. Digital technology has been

considered to revolutionise how people go about their day to

day lives although the technology of today can be out of date

by tomorrow. The gap between those who are literate in

technology and those who are not increases the gap of digital

divide as the complexity of technology becomes deeper. A

number of individuals alone or in groups can often feel

excluded or exclude them from experiencing new technologies.

Thus governments are faced with many challenges in an attempt

to address the problem. It is a complex problem which needs to

be tackled globally as it affects the increasingly aging

populations of western developed countries as well as the new

developing nations of Africa, Asia and South America. The

essay will then focus on the challenges faced using example

case studies of the United Kingdom, United States, India and

the Philippines. The overall conclusion will most likely show

that, it is cost in regards to software and expensive


copyrights. The infrastructure network within a country is

also highly important, so is the many ways which policy makers

approach the issue, some looking at individual ownership while

others seek to provide technologies communally to reach more

people and potentially better the population in doing so.

The term “digital divide” can be considered to be a sound

bite, a popular one which has quickly entered into language

and used when defining disparities within the online

community. Pippa Norris suggests that “digital divide” is a

multidimensional phenomenon encompassing three fairly distinct

aspects.1 The first of these the “global divide” constitutes

the divergence of internet access between developed and the

developing nations.2 The social divide on the other hand is

seen to concern the information gap between the rich and the

poor of each nation. Finally, as seen within the online

community, the “democratic divide” which signifies the

difference between those who do and do not use the digital

technologies available to them. To summarise the term can be

1 Norris, Pippa (2001) Digital Divide Civic Engagement, Information Poverty, and InternetWorldwide . United States p.3-42 Norris, Pippa (2001) Digital Divide (Civic Engagement, Information Poverty, and InternetWorldwide . United States p.3-4


seen as referring to any inequalities that arise between

groups, broadly construed, in terms of access to, use, or

knowledge of information and communication technologies.34 It

is also seen by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and

Development (OCED) that the digital divide is a gap between

individuals, households, businesses and geographic areas at

different socio-economic levels, with regard both to their

opportunities to assess information and communications

technologies (ICTs) and to their use of the internet for a

wide variety of activities.5

The Digital divide problem became increasingly apparent

in the mid to late 1990s, at the same time as America had seen

a boom in the sale of dotcom URLs.6 A much greater emphasis had

started to take place especially in regards to a new “internet

economy”, though many of these had failed as fast as they

3 U.S. Department of Commerce, National Telecommunications and InformationAdministration (NTIA). 1995. Falling through the net: A survey of the "havenots" in rural and urban America. Retrieved fromhttp://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/fallingthru.html.4 Chinn, Menzie D. and Robert W. Fairlie. (2004) The Determinants of theGlobal Digital Divide: A Cross-Country Analysis of Computer and InternetPenetration. Economic Growth Center. Retrieved from)http://www.econ.yale.edu/growth_pdf/cdp881.pdf . (20th April 2012) 5 OCED (2001a) Understanding the digital divide (Paris OCED)6 Warschauer, Mark (2004) Technology and Social Inclusion. United States. MITPress, Page 11

http://www.econ.yale.edu/growth_pdf/cdp881.pdf%20.%20(20th


started business.7 After this there had been a surge in the

demand for information technologies, thus the creation of

various services like e-commerce, e-governance and internet

based learning had begun to thrive.8

It is suggested by Jarboe that the world had entered

the third industrial revolution which relied on technologies,9

and the use of the internet in the office had become more

commonplace than ever before. This was mainly due to the fact

that businesses and services could be worked upon and sorted

efficiently providing hyper speed connections to the rest to

the globe and being able to send messages via this new

communication networks. There was a withdrawal from the older

traditional services, for example the post. This had given the

opportunity for some to move forward in utilising this new

technology and adapting it around their day to day life

requirements. While others who felt that they could not keep

up with the speed of change and may have seen this change as

7 Warschauer, Mark (2004) Technology and Social Inclusion. United States. MITPress, Page 128 Warschauer, Mark (2004) Technology and Social Inclusion. United States. MITPress, Page 129 Warschauer, Mark (2004) Technology and Social Inclusion. United States. MITPress, Page 10-15


too much at once withdrew themselves from using or being near

the new technologies.10

There are those who have overcome any perceived divide in

terms of digital media in which they are able to share mass

information freely.11 Various groups are also in existence who

seeks to upset the norms of society or fight back using

digital means, cyber hacktivism is one way. Those behind

several hacking cases are seen to do so in an attempt to

protect the freedom of information without censorship and to

engage with those who do not have access, it provides for

collective action, but only with individual agreement and

participation. Though famously groups (used loosely) such as

Anonymous seek to protect the freedom to information and

combat those who seek to withhold or in effect censor

information from the masses. The relevance of this is that

individuals have taken to digital media using it for means

where they would fear to undertake action in person. When the

individual can hide behind a computer they can be active in

10 Warschauer, Mark (2004) Technology and Social Inclusion. United States. MITPress, Page 10-1511 Warschauer, Mark (2004) Technology and Social Inclusion. United States. MITPress, Page 10-15


political participation enjoying the knowledge that the

internet is hard to police due to lack of actual jurisdiction.

Those who are affected by the digital divide could be said to

be disenfranchised as they lack the readily available

information especially when making decisions. Young people are

more likely to access the internet or have a greater need to

use it. This is mainly due to the increasing emphasis of

learning or research for homework through educational websites

(including the school’s own), or to young people communicating

and sharing amongst friends on the mass social networking

sites. The sites in question, Facebook and Twitter, being two

hugely successful sites are examples which illustrate the aim

of social networking sites hold and these are working towards

to becoming the biggest and most used of all the networking

sites. Those who are obstructed from this boost of information

or social activity will blame governments for not supplying an

adequate infrastructure in order to connect them.

Castells argues that through the powerful influences of

new communication systems, which are mediated by social

interests and adopted into governmental policies and business


strategies, a new culture is emerging which is changing for

good and adapting to the new technological revolution.12 This

providing an interesting argument where it could be said that

those who are affected by the digital divide are lagging

behind in the new changing culture. Although there is a vast

amount of E-commerce, the internet has only been successful

due to the fact that it is mainly focused upon the sharing of

information, which is the main reason why individuals accept

and share via the different media outlets available. Whether

through pictures, research or work documents, music or the

sharing of knowledge and opinion along with easy access by

most in the western world there has been an increase in

individualism. This is done so in a collective manner as the

internet is deemed to be open and free, while the older

traditional methods require experience or expertise.

Addressing the digital divide issue is imperative for

governments to consider especially in working to eradicate it

within their own borders. It provides opportunity for the

masses to have the opportunity to obtain access to the vast

12 Panyota Thomas (2005) Digital Divides In Europe- Culture, Politics andthe Western- Southern Divide Germany. Peter Lang 358


information available online but is acknowledged that poorer

people and minority groups are more likely to be on the

negative side of the digital divide. This is seen through the

example suggested by Benjamin Compaine that the lowest level

of telephone penetration exists within the city centres.13

However he further notes, that no situation compares with the

rural poor. 14 In terms of age, it is considered by Compaine

that those under the age of 25 are worst off in terms of

telephone penetration, thus would definitely suffer within the

digital divide.15

Jeffrey James correctly reminds readers of this debate

that it is not about ownership of the internet merely ensuring

universal access, and especially not individual ownership of

such technology.16 The United Kingdom provides a fantastic case

study whereby the country sees a vast number of connections

and the wide spread rollout of areas which are Wi-Fi hot

13 Compaine , B (2001) The Digital Divide-Facing A Crisis or Creating Myths.United States p 914 Compaine , B (2001) The Digital Divide-Facing A Crisis or Creating Myths.United States p915 Compaine , B (2001) The Digital Divide-Facing A Crisis or Creating Myths.United States p 9 16 James,J(2003) Bridging the Digital Divide. Cheltenham, UK pg Xi


zones, second only to America.17 Half of internet users in the

UK use the internet at least once a day. This is particularly

due to the growth in number of social media websites.

Although on first glance this may sound appear good

however, progress is still slow and the market is seen to be

failing in order to eradicate the digital divide. The Digital

Inclusion Team report stated that those who were digitally

divided or in other words socially excluded were three times

more likely to be from the information society as they are to

be included.18 Addressing the issue can provide opportunities

for individuals to become more inclusive to mainstream

society, they would be able to have a fuller life, become more

informed as an electorate in civic participation, and have the

chance to acquire skills for better employment and possible

action to assist in eliminating poverty. 19

The issue of digital divide is not assigned to any one

country but does differ in its severity, The UK as seen is a17 Panyota Thomas (2005) Digital Divides In Europe- Culture, Politics andthe Western- Southern Divide. Germany.Peter Lang 16718 Digital Inclusion Team (2007) The Digital Inclusion Landscape inEngland: Delivering Social Impact through Information and CommunicationsTechnologies. Digital Inclusion Team Report p1919 Digital Inclusion Team (2007) The Digital Inclusion Landscape inEngland: Delivering Social Impact through Information and CommunicationsTechnologies Team 2007:23


world leader yet still experiences a digital divide amongst

its population, mostly in rural areas due to the argued high

cost in implementing such projects. The divide is more

distinct between the richer and poorer nations. Jeffrey James

noted that most of the advances and research takes place

within the developed richer countries and by doing do,

benefits multinational corporations, especially in items like

software for example.20 This suggests, that the digital divide

will continue within the poorer areas due to the control held

over creation and selling of technologies being wielded at the

developed country’s multi-corporation’s will.

There is a disparity between countries especially in

regards to the speed at which they developed their ICT

framework. Thomas et al considers the issue and suggests that

economic considerations could be the plausible implication for

a number of countries.21 The cost in one country could be

vastly different from one country than another. The other

20James,J(2003) Bridging the Digital Divide. Cheltenham, UK pg xi21 Panyota Thomas (2005) Digital Divides In Europe- Culture, Politics andthe Western- Southern Divide Germany.Peter Lang p13


factor suggested is that some countries may have access to

some technologies before others. 22

National infrastructure can prove to be a challenge as it

could prove too expensive to connect a minority of the

population due to their geographic area, this is mainly the

northern coasts of Scotland and a quantity of rural areas up

and down the UK which would prove to be too a high an average

cost, to connect a small few communities compared to

connecting hundreds if not thousands of people within an area.

Saying this though the UK as an example still witnesses small

pockets of the population with either slow dial up connections

if any at all, this is compared to the cities and town where

they are receiving the highest speed available in the country,

via optic cables.

There is a difference in race that is noted by Sax et al

that 83 percent of new college students used the internet for

their school work and two thirds use it to communicate with

others such friends and family. Looking at the finer details

it is worryingly vast in the difference between races. 90.2

22 Panyota Thomas (2005) Digital Divides In Europe- Culture, Politics andthe Western- Southern Divide Germany. Peter Lang P13


percent from private colleges use the internet for research

while those entering black public colleges saw only 77.6

percent doing so.23 It is also noted that 80.1 from the

private college uses internet for communication like emails,

while only 41.4 percent of those attending the black public

colleges. 24

So far this essay has considered the main challenges

faced by digital divide, now it will take into account, the

work of policy makers and their attempt to eradicate it. There

are various approaches being implemented in all countries

across the world, all with different interests of whom and

when people are connected. For the Welsh Government can be

seen as a case study for its policy priorities in supporting

communities in the most rural parts of Wales to be connected

to broadband. They believe only when all communities are

connected can communities be informational rich and be more

self-sufficient as access to broadband allows their socio-

economic position to vastly improve. It has proved popular

23 Compaine , B (2001) The Digital Divide-Facing A Crisis or Creating Myths.United States p 48-49 24 Compaine , B (2001) The Digital Divide-Facing A Crisis or Creating Myths.United States p 48-49


within many areas of Wales including St Brides Newport where

forty eight individual homes were connected with the support

of the broadband grant from the Welsh government. There are

many different approaches and ways how governments get around

issues especially due to cost or having a high populace.

James25 uses Indian policy initiatives as an example of

where developing nations differ from the developed; the

development could thus be seen to be more communal than in the

developed world where it has become an assumption that there

must be at least one computer per house, thus the idea of

individualism. The Indian approach sees a “hole in the wall”

as the way to provide computer access to the street children

of New Delhi.26 It shows an example of where private

entrepreneurship can and does exist in order to connect the

masses where it may have not been achievable otherwise. 27 The

approach did not place emphasis to educate the street

children, as the government had wanted the children to find

out for themselves and avoid utilising teachers or adult

25James,J(2003) Bridging the Digital Divide. Cheltenham, UK pg xiii26 Warschauer, Mark (2004) Technology and Social Inclusion. United States. MITPress, Page 2 27


instructors. Though on the other hand, some parents had

started to take a dislike to the machines as it was seen to

affect the children’s interest in their homework and instead

place it with computer games.28 It also provides the

opportunity to address the challenge of eliminating digital

divides to 1.3 billion people.

This clearly Differs from the UK where a large emphasis

is placed on the private sector to connect, although the

question must then be asked who should be responsible for

eliminating digital divides. There seems to be variations of

whether this should be full government or full private sector,

or in some cases can see a mixture of both. James also points

out that developing country approaches do not rely on the

developed world,29 showing their independency and possible

change in world standing allowing the developing countries to

become wealthier through their ability to meet demand and way

of eliminating digital divides within their jurisdiction.

In the United States of America, it was President Clinton

who in 1997 aimed for all schools and libraries within the28 Warschauer, Mark (2004) Technology and Social Inclusion. United States. MITPress, Page 229 James,J(2003) Bridging the Digital Divide. Cheltenham, UK pg 99-101


country, to be connected to the internet with homes to be

later connected by 2007.30 It is seen that the distribution of

internet access within schools was and is not chosen randomly,

but more so along wealth lines.31 The distribution sees those

wealthy and well educated areas as priorities in getting them

connected. It sees the individual importance to own or have

access to digital technology, rather than the Indian approach

which deems communal access to technology as paramount to

ensure future economic wealth within communities.

The fact that multinational corporations for some time

have charged vast amounts for both hardware and more in

particular software can prove to be highly expensive due to

copyright and licencing.32 The software requires “permissions”

in order to change the functioning of the computer or

software.33 In response many countries in the developing world

have been rolling out and using what is known as open source

software. This is free to use and can be adapted to the user’s

needs without worry of breaching permissions like Microsoft

30 Compaine , B (2001) The Digital Divide-Facing A Crisis or Creating Myths.United States p 48-49 31 James,J(2003) Bridging the Digital Divide. Cheltenham, UK pg 99-10132James,J(2003) Bridging the Digital Divide. Cheltenham, UK pg 72-74 33 James,J(2003) Bridging the Digital Divide. Cheltenham, UK pg 72-74


software, Linux is the most famous example of a running

program. This is just one way how the developing countries are

avoiding relying on developed world goods. Open source

software is open freely to all who wish to access it instead

of the costly software that most are likely to utilise, this

being Microsoft Office and it’s various programs. There is a

small number of rules in place for example users cannot charge

for the software and no discrimination is just two rules from

a list of ten.34

Developing nations have increasingly found ways in which

they can avoid costs such as licensing to use specific

commercialised software, avoiding being so called `locked in’

and instead finding the free software such as Linux to replace

it. Software such as Linux can be run on old computers as well

as new, and can be seen to provide substantial value savings

being achieved. 35

There are three examples which will now be used to

illustrate the opportunities, the cost and how it is starting

to be increasingly rolled out in the richer developed nations.34The Open Source Initiative.(ND). The Open Source Initiative: Introduction.Available: http://www.opensource.org/docs/OSD.Last Accessed 27th April 201235 James,J(2003) Bridging the Digital Divide. Cheltenham, UK pg 72-74

http://www.opensource.org/docs/OSD.Last


The first example being seen in the 1990s, where in the

Philippines some educational institutions that had changed to

use Linux on their systems had found that they could keep

their tuition free charge down, compared to if they had stayed

with the commercial software with the consequence of definite

higher fees.36 Another benefit is that the free software can

work on the “low end older” machines which free them from the

chains of having commercial licences as said, along with their

having to continuously pay for the expensive regular updates.37

The next example being illustrated is looking into the

Mexicans 1998 plan which was to see 140,000 computers change

from using commercial software to Linux, seeing a remarkable

saving of US$3 million.38 Thus developed nations have since

seen a vast increase in the number of individuals and

organisations collecting old hardware and using it with the

free source software. Free software like Linux has been able

to provide a bridge to those who could not otherwise afford

access to the technology. The last example considers an

Australian scheme called Computer Bank which is a prime

36 James,J(2003) Bridging the Digital Divide. Cheltenham, UK pg Page 75 37 James,J(2003) Bridging the Digital Divide. Cheltenham, UK pg 75 38 James,J(2003) Bridging the Digital Divide. Cheltenham, UK pg 76


example of where organisations such as Computer Bank have

started to collect and redistribute, donated computers to

those misfortunate not to be able to access digital

technologies otherwise.39

To ensure it’s success it does not purchase licences as

it uses the free source software available and not be bound by

terms and conditions or expensive updates to keep the computer

in check in time.40 The fact that free source software can be

utilised within old computers provide a fantastic opportunity

for governments (policy makers) to attempt similar programmes,

in a possible attempt that they can follow to address the

issue effectively.41 In doing so providing a bridge for those,

who may have obstacles blocking them from accessing digital

technologies, and instead allowing them to cross the bridge

potentially the possibility of achieving full access to the

digital world, in things like the World Wide Web as one

example.

In conclusion it is seen that there are various

challenges associated with digital divide, some being cost,39James,J(2003) Bridging the Digital Divide. Cheltenham, UK pg 76 40 James,J(2003) Bridging the Digital Divide. Cheltenham, UK pg 7641 James,J(2003) Bridging the Digital Divide. Cheltenham, UK pg 76


race or culture, infrastructure or general refusal to make use

of available technologies by some individuals, all providing

policy makers with many difficulties in order to succeed in

their attempt to eradicate digital divide. It has also been

seen that digital divide is not just an issue in one country

but is a worldwide phenomenon. Developing nations have been

able to avoid being obstructed with expensive software that

comes with computers, rather they prefer open source where

they are able to use the resource for free but more

importantly adapt the software to meet their needs.


Bibliography

Compaine , B (2001) The Digital Divide-Facing A Crisis or

Creating Myths. United

Digital Inclusion Team (2007) The Digital Inclusion

Landscape in England: Delivering Social Impact through

Information and Communications Technologies Team 2007:23

James, J(2003) Bridging the Digital Divide. Cheltenham,

UK

Norris, Pippa (2001) Digital Divide Civic Engagement, Information

Poverty, and Internet Worldwide . United States

OCED (2001a) Understanding the digital divide (Paris OCED)

The Open Source Initiative.(ND). The Open Source Initiative:

Introduction. Available:

http://www.opensource.org/docs/OSD.Last Accessed 27th

April


U.S. Department of Commerce, National Telecommunications

and Information Administration (NTIA). 1995. Falling

through the net: A survey of the "have nots" in rural and

urban America. Retrieved from

http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/fallingthru.html

Warschauer, Mark (2004) Technology and Social Inclusion. United

States. MIT Press

Documents

What are the main challenges for policy makers today in their efforts to eliminate digital divides ?