High-Speed Internet Gap between Rich and Poor Widening, UN Official Warns

According to the United Nations (UN) News Centre, while the "digital divide" between rich and economically poor countries may be shrinking overall, the gap is widening between the developed and developing worlds in the availability of broadband or high-speed internet. This technological tool is used for achieving economic and social goals and, according to a UN official, it is critical to development. UN Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information Kiyo Akasaka spoke to the fourth World Electronic Media Forum (2009) in Mexico City, Mexico, stressing that "enhanced broadband connectivity can improve access to life-saving health care and information, provide opportunities for skills development and lifelong learning, lower costs for business, and connect farmers to markets, migrants to their families, and citizens to their governments." He illustrated the gap between regions with the following example: Australia, a country with 21 million people, has more broadband subscribers than the whole of Africa, a continent with nearly 900 million inhabitants. Further, more than half of the developed world population is now online, compared to 15 per cent in developing countries. "A person in a developed country is, on average, 200 times more likely than someone in a least developed country to enjoy high-speed access to the Internet." However, at the start of 2009, there were about 4 billion mobile telephone subscriptions worldwide. According to Mr. Akasaka, "Mobile phones have become one of the most equitably distributed ICTs [information and communication technology]."