Closing the digital divide

Changing and adapting to new technology is one of the main planks of the EU’s Lisbon Agenda, which aims to boost Europe’s competitiveness. One of the major obstacles is the digital divide, a term used to describe how some countries, regions and groups of people have less access to new technology than others.

Citizens’ level of education was among the strongest determining factors for internet use in Europe, according to a 2005 report by Eurostat, the European Commission’s statistical office. In the preceding year, only a quarter of people with just lower secondary education had access to the internet, while half of those who had completed secondary education had internet access. For those with higher education qualifications, the figure was 77%, more than three-quarters.

In Denmark, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, the UK, Iceland and Norway, more than two out of every three households had a computer while more than half had internet access. In Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey, however, fewer than one in three households had a computer and fewer than one in six had internet.

Internet access in the EU was low in rural areas while just 25% of households in the countryside had broadband access.

While no significant gender gap was recorded, age apparently figures strongly in determining the digital divide: 75% of individuals aged under 24 use the internet against only 11% in the oldest age group (64 to 74 years), according to the report.

Following the Seville European Council of 2002, member states and the European Commission put their weight behind the eEurope Action plan, which came out in 2005 and aimed to promote technology-based business through increasing access to the internet and upgrading skills.

The plan was replaced in 2005 with i2010 - a strategy aimed at promoting an internal market for information society and media services in the EU; strengthening investment in information and communication technology research; increasing access to technology and promoting online services, such as eGovernment, eHealth and digital libraries.

The digital divide in Europe is expected to narrow over time, partly as a consequence of investment being poured into the newer EU member states. But the digital divide between the developed and developing world is less easily bridged and is of increasing concern to policymakers. Cost is one of the main reasons for a digital divide the world over and it is most acutely felt in the poorest countries.

The much-vaunted $100 computers, designed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Labs, are expected to be made available in the autumn. Mobile phones are also proving an easier and cheaper way for people to get access to information and conduct business, without having to resort to costly and lengthy ways of installing land-lines. "It’s not just about connecting people, it’s about helping people get to better healthcare, water resources and so on. So much today depends on information," says Sanjay Acharya, of the Geneva-based International Telecommunication Union (ITU), a United Nations body. He adds that it can also help improve governance in developing countries. "People are better able to access information such as land records and with information and knowledge there is greater participation in what happens on the ground in countries," he says.

The EU’s development budget, member states’ aid funds and non-governmental organisation campaigns, will all be paying more attention to the digital divide. Companies too have much to gain from getting involved. In parts of Africa there has been a 400% increase in mobile phone subscriptions, something that is impossible to achieve in Europe or the US given the saturation of their markets.

The Connect Africa Summit on 29-30 October in Kigali, Rwanda, will bring together the African Union, G8 countries and the world’s leading technology companies to address these issues. "We need a ‘Marshall plan’ for ICT [information and communication technology] infrastructure development in Africa," says Hamadoun Touré, secretary-general of the ITU. "We have to mobilise the world’s human, financial and technical resources to support economic growth, employment and development across Africa," he adds.

Changing and adapting to new technology is one of the main planks of the EU’s Lisbon Agenda, which aims to boost Europe’s competitiveness. One of the major obstacles is the digital divide, a term used to describe how some countries, regions and groups of people have less access to new technology than others.