Digital divide is a term that refers to the gap between demographics and regions that have access to modern information and communications technology, and those that don't or have restricted access. This technology can include the telephone, television, personal computers and the Internet.
The digital divide typically exists between those in cities and those in rural areas; between the educated and the uneducated; between socioeconomic groups; and, globally, between the more and less industrially developed nations. Even among populations with some access to technology, the digital divide can be evident in the form of lower-performance computers, lower-speed wireless connections, lower-priced connections such as dial-up, and limited access to subscription-based content.
Source: http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/digital-divide
The digital divide often refers to two distinct issues: first, the gap in availability of broadband infrastructure (usually between densely populated urban areas and sparsely populated rural areas); and second, the gap in broadband take-up between certain demographic groups, with socio-economic factors often being key drivers.
Many governments and organisations in Europe are developing broadband policies to address the digital infrastructure divide, by stimulating investment in high-speed broadband infrastructure in rural areas; for example, through the provision of public–private partnerships and structural funds. The focus of this article, however, is on the options available for tackling barriers to the adoption of high-speed broadband services among lower socio-economic groups, to meet the European Commission’s Digital Agenda for Europe (DAE), which proposes ambitious targets for high-speed broadband take-up.
Only 2% of homes within the EU have taken up ultrafast broadband subscriptions while fixed broadband take-up is only 62%, meaning that 38% of households are still digitally excluded.
The DAE targets are defined as: 100% basic broadband availability to European Union (EU) citizens by 2013; 100% 30Mbps (fast) broadband availability to EU citizens by 2020; 50% 100Mbps (ultrafast) subscriber take-up in homes by 2020. According to the EU Scoreboard,1basic broadband coverage is available to over 95% of EU citizens and fast broadband coverage is available to 54%. Yet only 2% of homes within the EU have taken up ultrafast broadband subscriptions – and this is the most relevant statistic to this article.
Analysys Mason’s own research demonstrates that the extent of the digital divide is still quite significant in terms of the take-up of fixed basic, fast and ultrafast broadband services across Europe. Figure 1 shows that fixed broadband take-up is 62% for Europe, meaning that 38% of European premises do not have any fixed broadband connection.2
Figure 1: Broadband take-up among European households in 4Q 2012 [Source: Analysys Mason, 2013]
![Figure 1: Broadband take-up among European households in 4Q 2012 [Source: Analysys Mason, 2013]](https://www.analysysmason.com/PageFiles/42985/Figure1.png)
The primary barriers to broadband adoption can typically be classified as follows:
- lack of understanding of the relevance and benefits of broadband
- lack of skills or familiarity with information technologies, or confidence to use them
- affordability of connection and access fees, and devices with which to access broadband.
The first two barriers can be addressed through government programmes to implement education and demand stimulation initiatives such as the development of e-government, e-health, e-learning and e-business, aimed at encouraging the development and use of new broadband applications.
There is a clear correlation between the affordability of broadband services and the levels of broadband penetration, therefore presenting greater challenges in achieving the DAE's broadband take-up targets for 100Mbps services.
Addressing affordability requires other types of intervention. Our analysis shows a clear correlation between the affordability3 of broadband services and the levels of broadband penetration in a selection of European countries (Figure 2). Affordability will present an even greater barrier to adoption in achieving the DAE’s 100Mbps broadband take-up targets, as high-speed broadband usually consists of higher connection and monthly fees than basic broadband services
Sourcehttp://www.analysysmason.com/About-Us/News/Insight/Bridging-digital-divide-Jul2013/
Digital divide is a term that refers to the gap between demographics and regions that have access to modern information and communications technology, and those that don't or have restricted access. This technology can include the telephone, television, personal computers and the Internet.
The digital divide typically exists between those in cities and those in rural areas; between the educated and the uneducated; between socioeconomic groups; and, globally, between the more and less industrially developed nations. Even among populations with some access to technology, the digital divide can be evident in the form of lower-performance computers, lower-speed wireless connections, lower-priced connections such as dial-up, and limited access to subscription-based content.
Source: http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/digital-divide
The digital divide often refers to two distinct issues: first, the gap in availability of broadband infrastructure (usually between densely populated urban areas and sparsely populated rural areas); and second, the gap in broadband take-up between certain demographic groups, with socio-economic factors often being key drivers.
Many governments and organisations in Europe are developing broadband policies to address the digital infrastructure divide, by stimulating investment in high-speed broadband infrastructure in rural areas; for example, through the provision of public–private partnerships and structural funds. The focus of this article, however, is on the options available for tackling barriers to the adoption of high-speed broadband services among lower socio-economic groups, to meet the European Commission’s Digital Agenda for Europe (DAE), which proposes ambitious targets for high-speed broadband take-up.
Only 2% of homes within the EU have taken up ultrafast broadband subscriptions while fixed broadband take-up is only 62%, meaning that 38% of households are still digitally excluded.
The DAE targets are defined as: 100% basic broadband availability to European Union (EU) citizens by 2013; 100% 30Mbps (fast) broadband availability to EU citizens by 2020; 50% 100Mbps (ultrafast) subscriber take-up in homes by 2020. According to the EU Scoreboard,1basic broadband coverage is available to over 95% of EU citizens and fast broadband coverage is available to 54%. Yet only 2% of homes within the EU have taken up ultrafast broadband subscriptions – and this is the most relevant statistic to this article.
Analysys Mason’s own research demonstrates that the extent of the digital divide is still quite significant in terms of the take-up of fixed basic, fast and ultrafast broadband services across Europe. Figure 1 shows that fixed broadband take-up is 62% for Europe, meaning that 38% of European premises do not have any fixed broadband connection.2
Figure 1: Broadband take-up among European households in 4Q 2012 [Source: Analysys Mason, 2013]
The primary barriers to broadband adoption can typically be classified as follows:
- lack of understanding of the relevance and benefits of broadband
- lack of skills or familiarity with information technologies, or confidence to use them
- affordability of connection and access fees, and devices with which to access broadband.
The first two barriers can be addressed through government programmes to implement education and demand stimulation initiatives such as the development of e-government, e-health, e-learning and e-business, aimed at encouraging the development and use of new broadband applications.
There is a clear correlation between the affordability of broadband services and the levels of broadband penetration, therefore presenting greater challenges in achieving the DAE's broadband take-up targets for 100Mbps services.
Addressing affordability requires other types of intervention. Our analysis shows a clear correlation between the affordability3 of broadband services and the levels of broadband penetration in a selection of European countries (Figure 2). Affordability will present an even greater barrier to adoption in achieving the DAE’s 100Mbps broadband take-up targets, as high-speed broadband usually consists of higher connection and monthly fees than basic broadband services
