Digital Divide

• Uneven distribution in access to computers and the internet
• Called a digital divide
• Due to socioeconomic, geographic and demographic factors
• Differences between all countries is Global Digital Divide
• In Norway 96% of the population uses the internet compared to Somalia’s 2% (As of 2014)
• Main reasons
• Expensive infrastructure
• Geography
  • Island Nations
  • Mountainous terrain
• Government Restrictions
  • Some feel threatened by the free info available on the internet
  • Internet Black Holes, entire countries cut off from the internet
  • North Korea has one ISP controlled by the government
• Urban V. Rural
  • As of 2014, 4% of urban areas don’t have access while 39% of rural areas don’t have access
  • Tribal lands
  • ISP profit more from more densely populated areas
  • Geography
• Socioeconomic
  • The lowest income group, nearly 50$ don’t have a computer
  • Have to use libraries
  • Problems submitting job applications, banking

Protocols

• Many protocols are open and standardized
• open protocols are not owned by companies
• any device can join the network
• specification of protocols is maintained by INTERENT ENGINEERING TASK FORCE (IETF)