How do Developing Countries Catch Up with Developed Countries in Gaining Access to the
Internet? Take Chinese Taipei as an Example
Paper presented at the annual conference of the Pacific Telecommunications Council, Honolulu,
USA.
Abstract
This paper comprises six parts. First, I review and discuss concepts related to the global
digital divide. Next, I discuss the negative impact of a broadening digital divide. Third, I discuss
the phenomena of digital divide within one country as well as across countries using empirical
statistics. These statistics show that the global digital divide is a relevant concept in today's
global telecommunications environment. In addition, it shows the depletion of the global in
recent years.
In order to explain how developing countries catch up with developed countries in gaining
access to information and communication technologies (ICTs), I use Taiwan as an example to
discuss the digital divide and global digital divide. Following this, I explain how the Taiwanese
government employed an effective telecom policy framework to reduce the local and
international digital divide and facilitate telecommunication development so as to “digitally
leapfrog” the developed world. In the final section, I discuss whether the digital divide serves as
a useful policy concept. In my response, I use Internet user ratio, one of the most acceptable
digital divide indictors, as the main measurement.
Definition of Digital Divide/Global Digital Divide
In the information age, within the global telecommunication industry and information
society, ICTs including telephone lines, mobile phones, dialup and broadband have become the
essential parts of many people’s life. With proficiently operating ICTs, information can be
1
transmitted across different areas immediately. People who know how to exploit ICTs can easily
facilitate their lives and even live better due to knowledge economics, whereas people who are
not familiar with ICTs do not enjoy these benefits. With booming information economics and
rapid technological expansion, the disparity between those who have and those who do not have
access to information technology becomes evident.
The phrase Digital Divide was coined in the mid-1990s. It raised the question of “who has
access to information and communication technologies and who does not.” Economic factors
such as geography, regulation, gender, disabilities, socioeconomic status, accessibility and cost
all lead to inequalities in technological literacy and unequal access to information technology.
Let me take geography as an example. City infrastructure is usually much better equipped than
the countryside in regards to technology development. Furthermore, wireless companies need to
develop their economies to scale to lower its total cost and offer competitive prices to attract
customers. It is no doubt that cities with a high population density will be a good target. For rural
areas, wireless providers might have to transfer some of their costs to consumers if there is no
reimbursement or tax relief from the government.
According to Norris’ (2001) argument, the digital divide can be broken down into three
aspects to be better understood:
1. The global digital divide refers to the different levels of capacity to access ICTs between
industrialized and developing nations.
2. The social digital divide is viewed as inequalities of access to ICTs between those who are
“information rich” and those who are “information poor” within a country.
2
3. The democratic digital divide is seen as the difference between those who utilize ICTs and
those who do not use these digital resources.
Based on the Norris’ (2001) definition, the digital divide can also be viewed as an
inequality between different countries, and therefore, a global digital divide is formed. A global
digital divide is defined as an inconsistency in information technology access across areas and
countries in the world. Today, although a global diffusion of technology exists, the ability for
individuals to access ICTs vary substantially among countries. For instance, North America and
Europe are ranked as the top two areas in terms of access to technology. Let me take India and
U.S. for example. The rate in the U.S. is 100 times that of in India, or 60% versus 0.6% in
regards to computer ownership. Apparently, the U.S. has much higher penetration rates for
computer and Internet usage. It is easier for people in developed countries, than those in other
developing countries, to access a computer and the Internet. Consequently, the differences
among developing “semi-periphery” and developed “core” countries are blatantly huge.
Also, according to the findings of some cross-sectional research, ICT’s penetration rates
varying among countries is fundamentally related to economics factors such as individuals’
income per capita and cost of technology access. Further, socioeconomic status is the effective
index for ICTs exploitation. It indicates that people with higher socioeconomic status have
more opportunities to use ICTs than others. In addition, the competitive environment of the
telecommunication industry, political and sociological differences are also crucial issues
(Bauer, Berne & Maitland, 2002).
3
Impact of Digital Divide
The disadvantages of a broadening digital divide within one country not only reflect the
widening communication gap among different groups, but also worsen social inequality.
Therefore, it will result in social turbulence and hinder economic development. Furthermore,
digital divides across countries is closely linked to the overall economic development of the
world. In the 21st century, information technology is the most powerful force because it is one of
the most crucial factors in the world economic system. Developed countries have the advantage
of establishing operations of emerging giant Internet companies such as Microsoft, Intel, Corp,
Verizon Corp, Yahoo, and Google.com to increase the growth of economic development
compared to developing countries that do not have that advantage.
With the help of sustained evolving information technology, countries with integrated
infrastructures can exploit these new economics forces to create more wealth for their owners.
Therefore, the growing gap of information technology usage will deteriorate the financial
imbalance in world eco-economics. According to the research on universal service conducted by
Schement, Pressman, Povich in 1995, those who cannot have access to ICTs fully are at the
margins of society because they do not have the sufficient capacity in communicating with
outside world. They are easily isolated and based on their socioeconomic status and they are
likely to experience difficulties in competing with others.
In addition to economics, the globalization pace is accelerated by information circulation
now, more so than ever. However, not everyone benefits from that on an equal basis. Some
cultures are harmed by prevailing industries instead. Let me take websites for example. There are
more than 600 million websites frequently used. The primary languages are broken down into
English (72%), Japanese (7%), and German (5%). Despite the fact that more than 1,000
4
languages exist in the world, Spanish, Chinese, and French, though widespread, just comprise 1
to 2 percent of all websites.
This also reflects the status quo of national power. More specifically, English, the dominant
language in the world, established an enormous empire that rules areas of commerce, science, art,
and even information technology now. With the emergence of the United States after World War
II, the position of English in the world is untouchable. MS-DOS, Linux, Unix, and Windows
series, are all developed by English-speaking pioneers and though attempts have been made, no
one has successfully been able to match their progress. Moreover, ICTs flow also demonstrates
the might of cultures and the direction to which the flow of ICTs will follow. Some scholars
called it “digital colonialism” because some people only accept imported information from
dominant cultures but have not been able to reimburse these countries back with local content.
Therefore, global digital divide is a relevant concept in today's global telecommunications
environment. Policymakers need to consider linking the entire world of advanced (core) counties
and developing (peripheral) countries to the information superhighway.
Empirical Statistics of Global Digital Divide From 1999-2003
Without a doubt, a global digital divide exist. It is more important to study whether the gap
of the global digital divide is narrowing down or broadening. While most researches look at
developed and developing countries to examine the gap, this paper focuses on income level to
examine the gaps. According to definition of Wikipedia1, developed industrial countries are
those who possess relatively high standards of living through a strong high-technology
diversified economy and most of them have a high Gross Domestic Production (GDP). Although
1
Wikipedia is a Web-based and free-content encyclopedia with 200 language editions.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia
5
according to the survey of World Development Indicators database, the ratio of Internet users for
low income countries and high income countries generally showed upward trend from 1999 to
2003, the ratio of Internet users for high-income countries is overwhelmingly higher than that for
low/middle income countries (See Figure 1). It seems that the digital divide gap is getting worse.
On the other hand, from a more positive perspective, the gap might be narrowing based on the
value of “uplifting acceleration”. The number in Table 2 shows that the average growth rate in
the period from 1999 to 2003 for low income countries is much higher than that for high income
countries – about 50% vs. 25%. In addition, the ratio of Internet use from 2002 to 2003 for
middle/low income countries demonstrated a small but significant increase compared to higher
income countries. More specifically, Internet usage in low income countries grew more than
twice as fast in three periods – 1999-2000, 2001-2002 and 2002-2003. However, the ratio of
growth in Internet usage in high income countries decreased from 2000 to 2003 at 38%, 23%,
15% and 4% per annum respectively.
Figure 1: Internet Use in High and Income Countries from 1999 to 2003
Internet users (per 1,000 people)
High Income
Countries
400
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
Low Income
Countries
1999
2000
2001
6
2002
2003
Table 1: Internet User Per 1,000 People From 1999 to 2003
Countries
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
High income
187
258
317
364
377
High income: nonOECD
130
200
261
305
297
High income: OECD
248
323
363
408
433
Low & middle income
14
24
36
53
75
2
4
4
8
16
Lower middle income
11
18
27
45
63
World
59
85
107
131
150
Low income
2
Source: World Development Indicators Database ; http://devdata.worldbank.org/data-query
Table 2: Internet user per 1,000 people growth rate (%) from 2000 to 2003
Countries
2000
2001
2002
2003
High income
38%
23%
15%
4%
High income: nonOECD
54%
31%
17%
-3%
High income: OECD
30%
12%
12%
6%
Low & middle income
71%
50%
47%
42%
100%
0%
100%
100%
Lower middle income
64%
50%
67%
40%
World
44%
26%
22%
15%
Low income
Source: World Development Indicators database; http://devdata.worldbank.org/data-query
Similarly, according to the World Bank3 report in 2005, the global digital divide is rapidly
closing over the last ten years. The developing countries are getting access to internet at an
incredible rate in recent years to catch up with the developed countries. Therefore, if developing
countries can put more successful efforts to bridge digital divide within their own countries,
which minimizes the global digital divide across nations, the global digital divide may narrowing
2
World Development Indicators Database provides the development statistics from the World Bank
The report World Band News is released in February 28, 2005, entitled World Bank highlights role of private
and public sectors In Closing Digital Divide.
The World Bank was established in July 1, 1944. The member is 184 countries. There are two main institutions,
including the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Development
Association (IDA). The mission of World Bank is to help developing countries with financial and technical
assistance such as providing low-interest loans.
3
7
further. As the chart demonstrates, developing countries have a big chance to catch up with high
income countries if their growth rate can be sustained (See Figure1).
Many developing countries are on the way to shape their future by turning the digital divide
into a “digital opportunity”. According to the executive summary of the statement of the World
Economic Forum held in 2000, many countries in Asia, Latin America, Africa and Middle East
grasp the digital divide opportunities by private sector and government’s cooperation to reform
related policies, decrease access cost, and enhance infrastructures, and increase ICTs usage.
Developing countries also copy or imitate successful policies from developed countries. Taiwan
is a good example in explaining how developing countries catch up with developed countries in
view of narrowing down the digital divide. This is discussed in the following section.
The Digital Divide in Taiwan:
Taiwan is famous for its information technology manufacture and ICT development
performance. In 2000, the ranking for Taiwan Internet user ratio was superior to that for its GDP
per capita in view of ICT development (Norris, 2001, p.56). According to International
Telecommunications Union (ITU), Taiwan is ranked as the ninth in 2003 Digital Access Index
regarding to ICT infrastructure and prevalence. In addition, the Taiwanese authority, the
Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC), also released a statistical report that
about 39% Taiwanese can access the Internet, approximately 8.8 million Internet users out of 23
million total populations.
Digital Divide of Internet in Taiwan
The survey of Internet use in Taiwan from 1997 to 2005 conducted by the Internet News
8
and Data (FIND)4 indicated that the Internet user ratio enjoyed a “great leap” from 6% in 1996
to 39% in 2001. Hereafter, the Internet user growth ratio showed a smooth and steady increase
rather than the previous steep trend (See the Figure 2).
Figure 2: Growth of Internet Use in Taiwan from 1997 to 2005 (June)
Taiwan Internet User Growth Rate
Source: ACI IDEA. http://www.find.org.tw/0105/howmany/howmany_disp.asp?id=118
In 2001, Taiwan encountered an Internet diffusion bottleneck after its period of dramatic fast
growth. It was similar to the household telephone penetration scenario in America in 1970,
which was a telephone diffusion bottleneck. At that time, it was difficult to exceed 90% after a
great growth of telephone penetration ratio in the previous 24 years (Schement, 1995). Based on
the expectation of the diffusion model of communications technology, the diffusion is in the
peak of the S-shape. That means the growth momentum was diminishing. The solution is to
improve socioeconomics, such as enhancing the education level and cultivating citizens’
essential skills. In addition, government should help the poor to access to Internet through
subsidies and decreasing access cost, so as to be affordable to the masses.
4
The FIND is one organization in the Institute of Information Industry (III) under the support of the Department of
Industrial Technology (DOIT), Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA). In this survey, internet users were defined as those
who use the Internet at least two hours in a week.
9
The factors causing Digital Divide of Taiwan
The digital divide in Taiwan is the mixed consequence of social inequity resulted from
education and region. Those with higher education are more likely to have higher income and
can afford the latest information technology products and services. Those living in urban areas
are more likely to enjoy the benefit of infrastructure which is of high priority to build in a city in
view of usage efficiency. However, most highly-educated individuals live in cities, such as
Taipei and Kuohsiung. That is why the gap of disparity of capability to access Internet between
cities and rural areas exist.
1. Region
Generally speaking, Taiwan can be divided into four areas – Northern TW, Central TW,
Southern TW, and Eastern TW. Furthermore, there are two municipalities in Taiwan. One is
Taipei, the capital and business center, located in northern Taiwan. The other is Kaohsiung, the
business and industrial center, located in Southern Taiwan. According to official surveys
conducted by the MOTC in 1998, 1999, 2001, 2003 and 2005, Northern Taiwan with a higher
level of urbanization and population density than other areas, is ranked as the highest in terns of
Internet user ratio ranking. However, Eastern Taiwan with a lower level of urbanization and
population density is ranked the lowest in terms of Internet user ratio. In addition, Central
Taiwan and Southern Taiwan are almost at the same level in this index. More specifically, it is
worth comparing the ratio of Internet use in Taipei and Kaohiung. Taipei has a higher level of
urbanization than Kaohsiung and thus has a higher ratio of Internet usage than Kaohiung (See
Table 3 and Figure 3). The survey shows a usage gap exists among Northern TW and other areas.
Therefore, the level of urbanization of a region is a crucial factor that facilitates a digital divide.
In order to bridge the gap between each area, the Taiwan government should enhance its efforts
10
to improve the ICT infrastructure in rural areas such as Eastern Taiwan.
Table3: The Penetration of Internet Users* in Different Taiwan from 1998 to 2005
Taipei
1998
1999
2001
2003
Kaohsiung Northern Taiwan Central Taiwan Southern Taiwan Eastern Taiwan
17.70%
33.80%
56.40%
62.20%
66.40%
12.40%
22.60%
41.80%
51.50%
59.20%
13.00%
21.90%
38.10%
51.10%
57.90%
11.30%
16.00%
33.70%
44.60%
50.20%
9.40%
15.10%
30.70%
41.70%
48.00%
13.90%
28.00%
41.90%
50.00%
2005
* Internet user was defined as those who once use the Internet in a month.
Source: MOTC, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2003 and 2005.http://www.motc.gov.tw/survey/20050719153902_94www.WDL
Figure 3: The Penetration of Internet Users in Different Taiwan from 1998 to 2005
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2. Education
According to surveys conducted by MOTC in 1998, 1999, 2001 and 2003, education is also
a main factor determining Internet usage. With a higher education level, people with higher
information skills own and have easy access to ICTs. The ratio of internet use for graduate
students is 97.2% in 2003 (See Table 4). Moreover, according to the Schement’s (1995)
argument, income served as a predominant factor predicting home telephone penetrate rates. It is
no surprise to recognize education as one of the main attributions for a digital divide because
education levels determine social status and income levels in a culture emphasizing education
level.
11
Table 4: The Penetration of Internet Users with Different Levels of Education in Taiwan from 1998 to 2003
Elementary school Junior high
Senior high
Graduate
and under
school
school
College
University
school
1998
1999
2001
2003
4.10%
3.00%
12.20%
18.10%
11.20%
17.00%
30.00%
38.40%
22.00%
31.00%
41.00%
58.70%
45.60%
64.20%
73.00%
80.00%
64.50%
78.80%
84.20%
91.50%
85.70%
91.90%
91.50%
97.20%
Figure 4: The Penetration of Internet Users with Different Levels of Education in Taiwan from 1998 to 2003
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Dealing with the Digital Divide
The Taiwanese government began to notice the digital divide as Taiwan encountered an
ICT development bottleneck in 2003. The Institute of Information Industry (III), the think tank of
the government, developed a progress report arguing that the Taiwanese government should
work on enhancing infrastructure and providing universal access. In the meantime, in the paper,
entitled “Bridging the digital divide: the government’s duty and strategy,” Lin (2003) suggested
that in order to narrow down the digital divide, it is crucial to strengthen the infrastructure and
provide universal access. The author proposes three phases to bridge the digital divide.
The first step involves building the necessary infrastructure in every area. The second
suggestion is that the government should provide ICT training programs for those who do not
12
have ICT knowledge and skill to access to digital technology. Finally, the government should
make sure everyone, especially minorities, can have access to technology (See Figure 4).
Figure 5: Executive Sequences for Bridging the Digital Divide
Foundation Policy
Estimate the gap of
digital divide and
evaluate the benefit
of the project
Build up single plan
and management
mechanism
Provide ICTs
Infrastructure
Promotion and application
E-government
service and
promotion project
Enhancing education
and training
measurements
Individual and
Family application
Enterprise
application
Figure 5: Executive Sequences for Bridging the Digital Divide Cited from “Bridging the digital divide: The
government’s duty and strategy” by Lin, F. (2003).National Policy Quarterly 2(1), p. 50
Information and Internet Organization and Policy in Taiwan
The Taiwanese government integrates itself and the private sector to boost ICT development.
Several organizations are commissioned by the government to promote ICTs. The Institute of
Information Industry (III), Seednet, National Information Infrastructure Enterprise Promotion
Associate (NIIA) are briefly described below:
The III, founded by government and private organization in 1979, is one of the most
important organizations that promote information technology development in Taiwan. III is
executing several important ICT projects including E-Taiwan that will be discussed later.
Seednet, an important ISP provider, also conducts several significant government projects such
13
as “E-Government Portal Site” in 2001. This project helps government serve and connect with
1,500 government organizations which use networks with single sign-on. The purpose of the
E-Government Portal is to help the people get used to ICTs with the convenience of single
sign-in and thus narrowing down the digital divide. NIIA is the first non-profit organization in
Taiwan to improve its nNational information infrastructure and promote advanced applications.
In addition, one of its objectives is to connect government’s policies and private sector’s
technology to promote ICTs and national information infrastructure development.
E-Taiwan Project
E-Taiwan project, a six years National Development Plan, was submitted by the Science
and Technology Advisor Group (STAG) in 2002. The purpose of this project is to promote the
application of the Internet to establish Taiwan as an E-oriented and high-tech island. The goal of
E-Taiwan Project is to reach 6 million broadband users in 2007. The main propositions are listed
as follows (Also, see Figure 5)
1. Execute electronic-society program initiative and execute a program to improve infrastructure.
2. Provide the government with electronic service to make the Internet closer to life and thus
motivate people’s access to Internet.
3. Simplify online trade convenience and develop a barrier-free Internet user environment for
everyone to use easily.
4. Set up the Internet in libraries in every community and provide free training programs on
Internet skills. Bring the internet into rural areas at affordable prices.
5. Subsidize funds to support ICT training programs for students in elementary and middle
schools in rural areas, low-income household labors, farmers and aborigines.
14
Figure 6: The gold of E-Taiwan Program
Source: cited from http://www.etaiwan.nat.gov.tw/content/application/etaiwan/vision/index.php
With a series of programs promoting the use of ICTs, it will be possible for Taiwan to
enhance the Internet application ability for every citizen and thus reverse the crisis of the digital
divide into a new digital opportunity. Furthermore, it will help Taiwan become a “Green Silicon
Island,” not only through eliminating the digital divide but also narrowing down the gap between
Taiwan and developed countries in terms of a global digital divide.
Policymaking in Telecommunications Companies
Most of the surveys for Internet use emphasize Internet users rather than the non-users. This
leads telecommunication policies to focus on the needs of the Internet users and ignore the needs
of non-users. Telecommunication policymakers place more emphasis on market expansion and
upgrading the Internet infrastructure. In addition, in order to expand the market share to obtain
more profit, private telecommunication companies pay attention only to urban areas. Both these
phenomena worsen the digital divide by neglecting non-users in rural areas. Therefore,
telecommunication policymakers should establish different policies based on the needs of
15
Internet users and non-users, respectively. In response to the needs for Internet users, they are
more likely to concern the efficiency of ICTs, whereas regarding the need for non-users, they
need to be motivated to access the Internet first, be educated in the skills of using the Internet
and then be provided the affordability to access ICTs.
In order to minimize the global digital divide, the first step is to enhance technology access
and technology use within the country. Regulation, ownership of telecommunications companies
and the intense competition could be the chief consideration for new telecommunications media
access and use, quality and cost. Previous theoretical and empirical work and research found that
deregulation, privatization and competition are considered as useful policies to minimize the
digital divide within country. For example, Gutiérrez & Berg (2000) indicate that competition,
deregulation and privatization could improve performance and efficiency of telecommunications
and lines of service. Similarly, based on data from 30 countries in Africa and Latin American,
Wallsten (2001) found that privatization and deregulation enhanced the performance of the
telecommunications company. It is important to note that according to the sample of 26
developing countries, Petrazzini & Clark (1996) proposed that compared to the effects of
privatization, deregulation is more beneficial.
Furthermore, a higher intensity of competition in the telecommunications market could
supplement the market by lowering prices as well as providing more diverse services (Guillén &
Suárez, 2004). The results of research conducted by Fischer (1992) sported this idea and found
that family income and intensity of competition could affect media use. Therefore, lowering
prices for Internet access and opening up competition in the local loop are principles to bridge
the digital divide.
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Universal Service & Equal Access
The slogan “one system, one policy, universal service” was proposed by the president of
AT&T Theodore Vail in 1907. Universal service at that time indicated that the competing
telephone exchanges should be connected to each other, but it did not consider household
telephone penetration. Later, however, universal service was viewed as the concept of universal
access to basic services to make sure a telephone is in every household. In recent times, dramatic
technological advances and structural, universal service promote universal access to ICT services
such as the Internet and makes these technologies widely available and affordable for rural
people and the urban poor across the world (Schement, 1995).
In order to achieve universal access, especially in rural access, Schement and Tate (2003)
argued that there are three dimensions to carefully consider – connectivity, capability and
content. First, regarding connectivity, universal access to internet requires Internet devices such
as a personal computer, telephone or an Internet service provider (ISP) in every household.
However, these are not so easily achieved. There are still a lot of problems that need to be
resolved, such as unaffordable prices and a lack of infrastructure. Therefore, public libraries play
a critical role in providing connectivity (Schement & Tate, 2003).
Second, concerning capability, in the information society, there are still some people who
are lacking of information literacy. It is important to enhance people’s access to ICT services.
Finally, regarding content from the Internet, although profusion of information is available on
the Internet, content is not only a paradox but also does not offer equal access for each individual
user (Schement & Tate, 2003). It is important to provide more useful information for every user
to make the Internet more of a reality and thus motivate people’s access to the Internet.
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E-Rate
The digital divide refers to a gap not only between those with and those without access to
information technologies, but also between those with and those without knowledge required to
understand how to use information technology. Therefore, increasing knowledge on how to use
these technologies is also an important dimension to narrow the digital divide, especially in the
information society.
The Universal Service policy in the U.S. includes the E-Rate which focuses on access
instead of service. The Telecommunications Act of 1996 mandated discounts for high-speed
connectivity for schools, libraries, and rural health care centers as part of its Universal Service
provision. The E-Rate program was conducted to help schools to get wired up in terms of quality
and use of technology available to students. Unlike other programs, the E-Rate funding is no
longer directly awarded to the carriers. Schools and libraries are responsible for formulating their
requests and filing their applications. It is a major transition from the traditional model of
universal service with a focus on subsidizing the carrier directly to install facilities or provide
services at a reduced price.
Similarly, in Taiwan, in order to help K-12 schools access Internet, the Ministry of Education
of Taiwan conducted “The Information Education Development Project.” This project started in
July 1997 and will end in June 2007. The purpose of this project was to bring the Internet into all
campuses and to train all students in access skills to Internet. Therefore, promoting access is not
sufficient in bridging the digital divide. It is important to educate individuals in using these
technologies and to learn in new ways. Based on policies mentioned above, this could explain
that the idea of the digital divide is an important policy concept.
18
Conclusion
Many people in developing countries, such as Africa, do not have a chance to access basic
tools of communication. In order to bridge the global digital divide, global organizations have
invested over $210 billion dollars to help developing countries establish telecommunications
capacity in the last ten years (Word Bank, 2005). It is important to put in more effort to narrow
the gap of the global digital divide and even to eventually close it. Furthermore, there are needs
to promote not only access to Internet but also access to broadband services. Telephone
subcription, usage of personal computers (PCs) and modems can then be distributed everywhere
in the world. A positive development is that computer and Internet use are fast growing in
developing countries.
Although there are many ways to reduce the global digital divide, there is still room for
improvement. In order to ensure an annual growth ratio of ICT usage, it is important to know
that beyond economic factors, regulatory, political and sociological variables influence access to
ICTs around the world. Furthermore, economic status among world systems,
telecommunications policymaking and political regimes also affect the global digital divide.
With useful telecommunications policies and improved socioeconomic factors, developing
countries could have faster growth rates of telecommunications development than developed
countries, such that developing countries may have the ability to “digitally leapfrog” the
developed world. Optimistic statements such as a “smaller, more open world” with a minimum
global digital divide can be expected soon (Tapscott & Caston 1993, p.313).
19
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