Bridging Digital Divide: Neoliberal Means with State Control(?)

Abstract

Although digital divide, the gap in terms of access to ICTs, sounds like a mere technological divide, it is a reflection of the existing socioeconomic inequality. Warschauer argues that political, economic, cultural, and linguistic contexts shape people’s experience with any technology, including the Internet.1 Digital technologies have developed within a neoliberal political and economic context, which is inherently unequal and encourages individual well-being over collective well-being and profit over public service. The inequality that exists in terms of digital technologies is a socioeconomic divide. Digital divide exists across the regions, within a region, and within a country. The global north is far advanced in terms of digital technology compared with the global south. The availability of Internet bandwidth and number of users in a region or in a country are two key indicators of the digital strength of that region or country.KeywordsOpen Source SoftwareFederal Communication CommissionUniversal AccessDigital DivideCommercial BasisThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.