ABSTRACT
This chapter investigates the usage-based digital divide from both qualitative and quantative points of view. It discusses two regions in which fiber to the home services have already been started by carrying out the same survey by questionnaires: Yawata in Yamagata Prefecture and the Tokyo Metropolitan Area. A difficult question when considering digital divide is that the social and economic impacts of broadband services are controversial. As L. Firth and D. Mellor pointed out, the aggregation of expected revenues from broadband-related enterprises is not an adequate measure of broadband benefits; they must be measured in terms of the increase, not only in private, but also public surplus, including external effects. Therefore, we look at various viewpoints concerning digital divide policies. Digital divide can be broken down into two problems: access-based and usage-based digital divide. The core problem has shifted from the former to the latter.
