IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

''Telecom can provide better quality of life to the poor and it can educate the rural masses. Distance learning and creating virtual classrooms would maximise the use of new technologies in telecommunications for the benefits of the poor,'' he said.

A digital divide exists between Indians who know English and those who do not. People educated in the vernacular medium had been hitherto left out of the computing revolution. The biggest losers were the government and NGOs (non-government organisations). The IT revolution left rural India and non-English users untouched.

India has made significant progress in the field of digital transformation. But these benefits continue to remain unevenly distributed 

In his speech to G20 leaders in Bali, Indonesia on November 16, Prime Minister Narendra Modi vowed to work on bridging the digital divide during India's presidency of the global intergovernmental forum. The Prime Minister's intentions are welcome, but in the absence of concrete government action, bridging the digital divide in India will remain a distant dream.

Ein internationales Konsortium aus indischen und US-amerikanischen Unternehmen will zusammen mit der Weltbank tausende indische Dörfer mit Internetanschlüssen ausstatten. Im Rahmen des geplanten Projektes sollen in rund 5.000 Dörfern auf dem Subkontinent Internetzentren oder -läden entstehen, berichtet die New York Times. Ziel der Initiative ist es demnach, der Landbevölkerung Zugang zu Services wie E-Government, Online-Banking oder zu Bildungsangeboten zu verschaffen.

Data from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) suggest that global Internet bandwidth expanded in 2021 due to a 'COVID connectivity boost'. However, the world's poorest are still being left far behind.

An estimated 37 per cent of the world's population or 2.9 billion people have still never used the Internet.

The ITU, which is the United Nations specialised agency for information and communication technologies (ICTs), also revealed strong global growth in Internet use, with the estimated number of people who have used the Internet surging to 4.9 billion in 2021, from an estimated 4.1 billion in 2019.

Internet rights groups and lawyers have warned that high internet prices in developing countries could push them further behind in the fight against poverty. They have also said access to the internet should be a basic human right.

The comments by the Open Rights Group and Dr. Yaman Akdeniz, a professor of law, and director of Cyber-Rights.Org, follow figures released by the UN looking at the global disparity in fixed broadband access and cost in different countries.

The country did manage a marginal increase in its score from 7.86 out of 10 last year to 8.03. Top of the league is the US with a score of 8.95.

A broadband taskforce established in California last year by governor Arnold Schwarzenegger voiced similar concerns recently for the state that was the breeding ground for internet giants such as Google and Ebay.

While 95pc of residents in Los Angeles can subscribe to speeds of 10Mbps or higher, some rural areas are being left behind, said the taskforce.

That is according to the Mid West Regional Authority (MWRA), which is the lead partner in a European Transnational project aimed at making eGovernment services more widely accessible and socially inclusive.

The CitizenFirst project seeks to reduce the digital divide that affects communities and citizens in the territories of Mid-West Region (Ireland), Eindhoven Region (Netherlands), West Flanders (Belgium) and Cambridgeshire (UK).

Digital inclusion ensures all individuals and every disadvantaged group have access to and the skills to use ICT, and are therefore able to participate in and benefit from the growing knowledge and information society. There is overwhelming evidence that those who are not connected — largely those living in remote or deprived areas, those on low incomes, the elderly and the disabled — are in danger of becoming increasingly socially excluded.

In Deutschland haben 17 Prozent der Bevölkerung zwischen 16 und 74 Jahren noch nie das Internet genutzt. Laut den am 5. September 2011 veröffentlichten Angaben des Statistischen Bundesamts sind besonders viele ältere Menschen ohne jede Interneterfahrung.

The Kenya government is partnering with stakeholders in order to ensure that the present digital divide among the urban and rural poor does not extend further.

This follows the realization that a computer literate workforce is key to the achievement of the economic blue print, Vision 2030.

Kenya Data Networks (KDN) and ICTvillage.com have unveiled a model digital village centre in the sprawling slum, the first in an expansive roll-out of similar units under the Sh210 million digital villages project.

Officials from the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat spent February 3 and 4 at the National ICT Center dialoguing with officials from the public and private sectors and civil society on the draft Regional ICT4D (Development) Strategy Plan which is a five year policy document.

The Secretariat’s Senior Project Officer for ICT Development Jennifer Britton, told participants that the document dubbed the Regional Digital Development Strategy was crafted by the Regional ICT Steering Committee along with consultant Dr. Camilla Rhone. Ms. Britton added that the current tour of member states is designed primarily to familiarize citizens with the plans and to get a sense of the situation in each country.

The government is increasing the number of education centres so anyone can learn how to use digital devices, such as smartphones and kiosks, in their daily lives.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) is boosting the number of Digital Literacy Education Centres in the South Korean capital in a bid to narrow the digital divide.

Until mid-June 2021, SMG will increase the number of education centres by eight to 14 so anyone can learn how to use digital devices, such as smartphones and kiosks, in their daily lives.

Kuwaiti lawyer Mohammad Al-Dallal explained during a seminar he held at the Gulf University for Science and Technology as part of Kuwait's first Social Media Forum, that the current authorities use a clause that mentions abuse 'via telephone or other communication tools'. It is on the last three words, 'other communication tools' that the authorities back up any lawsuits or complaints against cyber defamation, bullying, or fraud.

In 2009 the Internet users in Lithuania represented slightly more than half of the population. According to the Ministry's proposal, Lithuania should reach the European Union Member States' average of 75 % of Internet users. Another objective is to have 79 % of the Lithuanians trained to work on a computer, against 57 % in 2009.