ID21 - Insights Issue 25

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		Net Gains or net dreams?

		Gender agenda: women cast wary eye on ICTs

		Is the Information Society heading South?

		Teleworking: configuring the virtual marketplace

		Access - it takes more than technology

		Knowledge as capital: a World Bank view

		Sites for sore eyes: websites under 'Development'

March 1998 Insights Issue #25

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Internet access for all: the obstacles and the signposts

With some 29 million hosts by January 1998, the Internet is the largest network in the world. Full Internet access comprises e-mail, the World Wide Web, file transfer and telnet but in many developing countries access is often limited to simpler store-and-forward e-mail facilities. There are strong contrasts in Internet availability between industrialised and developing countries and there is uneven access within developing countries. What are the main uses - actual and potential - of the Net as a factor in development? And can inequalities of access and culture be overcome?

Existing Internet applications in development contexts span the health, education, environment protection and agriculture sectors. In healthcare, telemedicine supported by the Internet is making medical care available virtually on demand. This facility is extending the reach of specialists and general practitioners. Internet access is providing new learning resources tailored in some cases to local styles of teaching.

Environmental care is being aided by access through the Internet to real-time decision support systems, while the management of emergencies is benefiting from improved communication links between local authorities, environmental protection agencies and citizens. Availability of information about new farming practices, crops, weather forecast, pest control and markets is playing a growing part in strategies to alleviate hunger. On-line data entry and data processing, software development and selling of products and services are all creating teleworking opportunities, while the scientific community is gaining access to international libraries, catalogues and research material to speed and facilitate research work.

The networking facilities of the Internet include services for citizens' networks that enable interest groups to form and intercommunicate. In some cases, these new activities embrace minority and disadvantaged groups and there are increasing numbers of women's initiatives in developing countries. Public sector websites are providing information for investors, importers and exporters, citizens and tourists. Governments are establishing e-mail channels for interaction with citizens, that promise to enable greater popular participation in decision making.

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Potential for growth in these applications depends on whether access and other barriers can be overcome. Inadequate infrastructure (including scarcity of Internet hosts, terminals and affordable telecommunication services) inhibits internet access. Initial impetus for setting up connections often comes from NGOs (non-governmental organisations) but once demand has been established, commercial Internet Service Providers enter the market, and fees rise.

Equipment costs can be high and there are also recurring costs for user training, line use and system maintenance. The potential of the Internet is often not widely understood and, in some cases, legal restrictions limit access to authorised users for prescribed purposes.

These bottlenecks are compounded by dominance of English language materials on the Internet and perceived lack of balance in the amount of locally originated and foreign content. The Internet offers a window to pornographic and racist information. Quality control raises questions for some governments and citizens about whether access is really as valuable as advocates claim. The very high rate of illiteracy in many developing countries (see chart) means that even when access is possible, most text-based information does little to alleviate social and economic problems that ethical websites bid to tackle.

There are many instances where use of the Internet in developing countries is making no perceptible difference to the lives of ordinary people or may even be harmful. Beneficial use of the Internet demands investment in social infrastructure and skills to use the Internet in a way that is compatible with local circumstances, cultures and abilities.

Uta Wehn,
Science Policy Research Unit
University of Sussex,
Brighton BN1 9RF, UK

T: +44 (0)1273 686 758
F: +44 (0)1273 685 865

E: u.w.c.wehn@sussex.ac.uk
URL: www.sussex.ac.uk/spru/

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