[WSIS CS-Plenary] Re: The Economist on the 'real digitaldivide'

[Anriette Esterhuysen]

Below is a letter sent to the Economist in response to the 'digital divide' 
article. 

To the Editor, Economist

In response to:  The Real Digital Divide. March 10th 2005 

"The Real Digital Divide" correctly asserts that this divide is merely a 
symptom of deeper, more important divides. However, the article has 
two serious flaws.  

Firstly, it falls into the 'generalisation' trap. It assumes that solutions 
that worked well in one context will necessarily work well everywhere.   

Mobile phones are NOT always the cheapest or best way to provide 
telephony, especially to poor and rural populations. Newer and 
cheaper technologies such as WiFi, WiMax, CorDECT and VOIP 
(voice over internet protocol) could prove far more cost effective, and 
they have the added advantage of providing data services such as 
internet.    Furthermore, sparsely populated rural regions are proving 
less attractive to mobile providers, and the growth rate in network 
coverage (as distinct from subscribers) is slowing down, long before it 
reaches many of the poorest people.  

Secondly, why does the author conclude from the undisputed value of 
mobile telephony that other new technologies are superfluous in 
addressing development challenges?  

People living in the developed world's lives have been transformed by 
the power of the internet in multiple dimensions: work, social 
connectivity, banking, entertainment, political debate.  They live in a 
context of increasing access and efficiency.  Why deny these benefits 
to developing countries and the poor?  Avoiding the infrastructure and 
capacity development challenges of introducing these technologies to 
developing countries is NOT an effective response to growing 
inequities.  

Digital inclusion is not simply about access to computers or the 
internet, it is about not being left behind when such far-reaching 
institutional changes are revolutionizing every aspect of social and 
economic life.  

Regarding regulatory approaches, it is now widely acknowledged, 
including by the World Bank that the market alone is not sufficient, 
especially in remote and rural areas and poorer populations.   There is 
a major role for investment and regulation in the public interest, in an 
environment that is increasingly horizontally segmented between local 
access networks, backbone providers, and service providers.  

The need for universal service access funds is widely accepted. But 
current thinking is now considering ways of providing wholesale 
bandwidth, where a single provider, publicly-owned or in consortium, 
sells backbone bandwidth cheaply and transparently to all. At local 
level, community-owned networks already exist from Poland to 
Argentina - following the lead of the USA where over 500 local rural 
telephony cooperatives have flourished for decades and now provide 
broadband.   The point here is not to say that competition does not 
play a key role. Rather, it is essential to pursue continuous and 
ongoing regulatory innovation, and to remain open to all suitable 
solutions.  

Exclusive solutions, be they technical or regulatory, are simply too 
restrictive for the diversity of needs and environments.  

Association for Progressive Communications, Johannnesburg 
Digital Divide Data, San Francisco 
IT For Change, Bangalore
Bread For All, Lausanne 
NEXUS Research, Dublin  



------------------------------------------------------
Anriette Esterhuysen, Executive Director
Association for Progressive Communications
anriette at apc.org
http://www.apc.org
PO Box 29755, Melville, South Africa. 2109
Tel. 27 11 726 1692
Fax 27 11 726 1692



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