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March 22, 2006
Research Study: Internet Access Spreads While Computing Power Gets Concentrated in Wealthy Countries
This week, the Seattle Times had an interesting article about a new study (pdf) on the international digital divide. The study, published by the World Information Access Project at the University of Washington, suggests that Internet access in general is spreading throughout much of the world, while computers and servers are being concentrated in wealthier countries. And the level of concentration has increased over the last 10 years, despite recent efforts to bridge the divide.
"That's pretty surprising, because we expected open markets to bring technology all around the world in an even way," noted Philip Howard, assistant professor of communications at UW.
From the article:
He directed a team of 30 students who analyzed 10 years of data from the World Bank and other sources to compile the World Information Access 2006 Report.From 1995 to 2005, they found, the supply of computers, Internet hosts and secure servers became more narrowly distributed among a core group of countries.
Mobile phones and Internet access, by contrast, proliferated to become more evenly distributed around the world.
Perhaps the most telling part of the study is reflected in the cost of Internet access in different parts of the world. For example, I often hear people bragging about the proliferation of cybercafes in Africa and other parts of the developing world, pointing to this trend as a sign that the digital divide is narrowing. But when it comes to how much money the average person has to shell out for access, the study paints a worrisome picture. For example, while an hour of Internet access at a New York City cybercafe while cost the equivalent of six percent of a local patron's daily income, access in Lagos, Nigeria would cost the average user a whopping 75% of their daily income. "In the rich cities, an Internet user who spends $1 actually gets more out of their experience and finds more Web sites in their language," Howard said.
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Percent of Average Daily Income Spent on One Hour of Commerical Internet Access, 2005. Source: World Information Access Project 2006 Report |
The article continues:
While poorer countries tend to get computers much like hand-me-down clothing, cheaper mobile technology has spread relatively quickly."Most people around the world will experience new information technologies through their mobile-phone browsers," Howard said. "Computers are still priced out of reach for most people."
That leads Howard to question whether the right strategy is to build a $100 computer that links people in a network, as Massachusetts Institute of Technology is doing with its One Laptop per Child project, or a mobile phone that computes, as Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates has suggested.
The infrastructure and policies of the developing world seem better suited for mobile phones, Howard says.
"I can't believe I'm saying this, but think I come down on the Microsoft camp," Howard said.
That is, with one caveat: He thinks the mobile devices should be based on the open-source software Linux.
While I agree with Howard that mobile phones will be medium that carries Internet access to many new users in the developing world, I'm frustrated by the article pushing the canard that bridging the digital divide is a matter of deciding between policies promoting mobile phone access OR policies promoting low-cost computers. In my mind at least, there is no technological silver bullet to the divide.
Different communities have differing development needs, depending on their circumstance. It doesn't make sense to promote a single tech solution as the One True Technology that will unite all people in a global development group hug. A Senegalese farmer ready to bring his crops to market would benefit from having a handheld device such as an Internet PDA or an Internet mobile phone in order to get the latest market prices, so he can determine how much produce to bring and where. (The Manobi Time to Market project in Senegal is already doing just that through mobile phones and SMS text messaging.) Meanwhile, a small business incubator in Zambia would benefit from providing young entrepreneurs with laptops, given the amount of spreadsheets, business proposals and marketing plans they'd each have to create as their businesses are nurtured. (Sure, you can do spreadsheets and Powerpoints on some mobile phones already, but have you ever tried ditching your computer for a week and using a phone for all of your productivity needs? Try it and let me know how it goes for you.) And in countless other communities, community radio still remains the best way to get information out quickly to a large audience.
The research conducted for this study will undoubtedly lead to many important debates about the progress we're making in bridging the global digital divide. I just worry that even more media outlets and policymakers will buy into this Spy vs. Spy-like technology debate, when there's simply no one device that will solve all the world's ills. The more tech options we have, the more potential solutions available for each development context... -andy
Posted by acarvin at March 22, 2006 11:08 AM
Listen to a computer-generated podcast of this article
