Internet Access - Digital Divide

Digital Divide

Main articles: Digital divide and Global digital divide

Despite its tremendous growth, Internet access is not distributed equally within or between countries.

The digital divide refers to “the gap between people with effective access to information and communications technology (ICT), and those with very limited or no access”. The gap between people with Internet access and those without is one of many aspects of the digital divide. Whether someone has access to the Internet can depend greatly on financial status, geographical location as well as government policies. “Low-income, rural, and minority populations have received special scrutiny as the technological "have-nots."

Government policies play a tremendous role in bringing Internet access to or limiting access for underserved groups, regions, and countries. For example in Pakistan, which is pursuing an aggressive IT policy aimed at boosting its drive for economic modernization, the number of Internet users grew from 133,900 (0.1% of the population) in 2000 to 31 million (17.6% of the population) in 2011. In countries such as North Korea and Cuba there is relatively little access to the Internet due to the governments' fear of political instability that might accompany the benefits of access to the global Internet. The U.S. trade embargo is another barrier limiting Internet access in Cuba.

In the United States, billions of dollars has been invested in efforts to narrow the digital divide and bring Internet access to more people in low-income and rural areas of the United States. The Obama administration has continued this commitment to narrowing the digital divide through the use of stimulus funding. The National Center for Education Statistics reported that 98% of all U.S. classroom computers had Internet access in 2008 with roughly one computer with Internet access available for every three students. The percentage and ratio of students to computers was the same for rural schools (98% and 1 computer for every 2.9 students).

Access to computers is a dominant factor in determining the level of Internet access. In 2011, in developing countries, 25% of households had a computer and 20% had Internet access, while in developed countries the figures were 74% of households had a computer and 71% had Internet access. When buying computers was legalized in Cuba in 2007, the private ownership of computers soared (there were 630,000 computers available on the island in 2008, a 23% increase over 2007).

Internet access has changed the way in which many people think and has become an integral part of peoples economic, political, and social lives. Providing Internet access to more people in the world allow will them to take advantage of the “political, social, economic, educational, and career opportunities” available over the Internet. Several of the 67 principles adopted at the World Summit on the Information Society convened by the United Nations in Geneva in 2003, directly address the digital divide. To promote economic development and a reduction of the digital divide, national broadband plans have been and are being developed to increase the availability of affordable high-speed Internet access throughout the world.