1.1. The Broadband Divide

Analysis of gaps in access to telecommunications has typically focused on voice telephony. The good news is that access to voice services has improved dramatically, thanks largely to newly available and more affordable wireless (mobile) services in many developing countries. The bad news is that broadband, a key requirement for productive Internet access, is still unavailable and/or unaffordable in most of the developing world. Table 1 shows the gap in Internet access between the industrialized and developing worlds. More than 85 percent of the world’s Internet users are in developed countries, which account for only about 22 percent of the world’s population. Of course, Internet access requires both communications links and information technologies, particularly personal computers or networked computer terminals. While there is still much less access to telecommunications in developing countries than in industrialized countries, at present, the gap in access to computers is much greater than the gap in access to telephone lines or telephones. High income countries had 22 times as many telephone lines per 100 population as low income countries, but 96 times as many computers