ABSTRACT
The concept of the ‘digital divide’ – a gap between those sections of the population with access to computers and the Internet and those without – has been documented and articulated most clearly by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) of the US Department of Commerce. A series of reports, collectively entitled Falling Through the Net, have documented the changing pattern of Internet use. While the reports themselves do not articulate explicit policy measures to address the divide, they do make a clear case for policy intervention. For example the summary of the most recent report says: ‘increasing the number of Americans using the technology tools of the digital age is a vitally important national goal’ (NTIA 2000: xv). Similar ‘digital divides’ and associated policy concerns are being identified within other developed nations, and international bodies such as the World Bank are drawing attention to the divide in connectivity between the western nations and those of the developing world.
