Information Society Watch

February 2008, Murali Shanmugavalen, Panos London

This article draws attention to some of the challenges that lie in the way to bridging the digital divide. First, even as many developing countries witness expansion of new means of communication such as the Internet and mobile phones, a significant proportion of their populations, especially those in the rural areas, remain unserved or underserved. Second, no strong regulatory mechanisms are in place, leading to private players setting unjustifiably high tariffs that make services inaccessible to a large number of people. Third, high costs in setting up superior physical infrastructure such as optical fibre links hinders the expansion of the Internet in developing countries. The author concludes by calling for a greater role of the public sector in regulating private players and investing in infrastructure.

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