May 2001 — Editorial
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Bridging the Digital Divide
A topic of great concern to most countries around the world, the “Digital Divide” is usually defined as the gap in technology ownership and access between those who are affluent and those who are poor or live in rural areas with limited or no access to the Internet. This ownership and access can depend primarily on three factors: race, geography and economic status.
A number of projects in the U.S. have addressed this issue. The most extensive is the Federal Communication Commission’s E-rate program for inner city schools and low-income areas. $1.5 billion has already been made available to schools based on the number of students served by the national school lunch program and the number of parents below poverty level.
Businesses are also taking a more active role in promoting technology in disadvantaged areas. This can be seen in the graph above, which was based upon a study of 500 IT and business professionals and published in the March 26th issue of Information Week.
A variety of interesting projects involve technology leaders and non-technical companies who provide funds and volunteers so that the opportunity to have access to computers and to the Internet is available. For example, in New York City, public Internet kiosks are located throughout the five boroughs. During a four-year pilot project identified as “City Access,” more than 2.7 million people used several dozen kiosks. In Atlanta, GA, more than 5,000 residents have visited technology centers created by the city’s Community Technology Initiative, which provides access to computers and the Web, as well as an opportunity for technology training.
Mouse.org, a nonprofit organization, links New York state public schools to grants and equipment, and also provides volunteers from the New York IT community to work with students and teachers. Three Pennsylvania school districts serving students from urban, suburban and rural areas are receiving state funds and are provided 24-hour access to Internet learning resources. In North Carolina, the state’s Rural Internet Access Authority is creating telework centers and developing online access to health, learning and commerce resources for smaller communities. Business partnerships with educational institutions are growing with the hopes of transforming the digital divide into digital opportunity for all.
According to recent data available from the National Center of Education Statistics, 95% of public schools in the U.S. are connected to the Internet. Of these, 65% use dedicated lines (including T1, T3 or 56K lines), 14% use dialup connections, and 23% use another type of connection (including cable modems, wireless connections and ISDN lines). Applications are beginning to be hindered only by bandwidth limits.
Unfortunately, inequalities still exist. Of 46 public black colleges recently surveyed by the nonprofit Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund, approximately $700 million is needed to meet their current technology needs. Also, nearly one-third of the institutions in the survey reported that more than 90% of their students did not even own PCs. Half of the students stated that more than three-quarters of their courses did not require e-mail.
