.FLYINGHEAD BRIDGING THE DIGITAL DIVIDE
.TITLE The digital divide and the poor in Jamaica: Bridging the gap
.AUTHOR Jessica McCurdy Crooks
.SUMMARY Like most countries worldwide, Jamaica has a digital divide. Jamaica’s digital divide has to do Internet access, access to technology, and knowing how to use it. This limits the economic progress of those affected. So why are the poor those mostly affected by the digital divide?
.OTHER
Like most, if not all other countries worldwide, Jamaica has a digital divide. In Jamaica’s context, the digital divide has to do with more than just Internet access; it’s also about having access to the technology, and knowing how to use it. The problem is that the digital divide limits the economic progress of those affected. It’s a known fact that ICT (Information Communication Technology) is important for economic growth and progress. Having access to computers and being connected can powerfully impact growth.
In Jamaica, those with no or limited access to the Internet and related services tend to be from among poorer sections of the society, living in rural areas or inner-city communities. So why are the poor the ones mostly affected by the digital divide? In Jamaica, as is true for other countries, the digital divide affects the poor for a multitude of reasons.
.BREAK_EMAIL Click here to learn more about Jamaica’s digital divide.
.H1 Inability to afford computers
The cost of computers is one reason why poorer Jamaicans are not able to access the Internet. Granted, all high schools now have computer labs, but a number of issues still prohibit the use of computers by some students in the poorer communities.
It has been found that it’s primarily those students who already have access at home who gravitate toward using the equipment. Also, some schools have a fee component attached to the use of computer labs. This fee is a deterrent to students whose parents can hardly afford lunch money. However, the fees are necessary to help maintain the computers–it’s a basic Catch-22 situation.
On the other hand there are cases where some schools in rural areas have made their computer labs available to the community.
.H1 Inability to afford telecommunication cost
Although the price of Internet connectivity and telephone rates has gone down, many are still unable to afford service. Average rates for Internet service now range from approximately J$1000 (US$16.00) per month to a J$4500 (US$70.00) for ADSL. Note: There are some packages that cost more.
.H1 Difficulty for telecommunication companies to set up in complicated terrain
Many of the island’s poorest citizens live in rural areas where it can be problematic to set up the telephone infrastructure necessary for proper Internet access.
Unfortunately, even when telephone service is available in some areas, there is no availability of infrastructure for high-speed access. This places an additional cost burden on the poor who, if they can come up with the cash, are limited to dial-up service for their children.
.H1 Cultural issues such as distrust of the technology
There are still those persons who have a basic distrust of the technology. This is proving to be in some cases a reason for not having or allowing access to the Internet and associated technology.
.H1 Illiteracy
The literacy rate for Jamaica is estimated to be around 87.9 percent. That means about 12.1 percent of the population can’t read or write. This is a major deterrent when it comes to closing the digital gap between the rich and the poor in Jamaica.
.H1 Gender
Gender also poses another hurdle in closing the gap. With an estimated 46.3 percent of Jamaica’s households headed by women, many of whom are living below the poverty line, the focus is not on getting access to ICT, but on daily survival. In a presentation by Satoko Nadamoto entitled "Gender and ICTs: Empowerment of Women in Telecentres in Jamaica," it was reported that the ratio of Jamaican women to men who had Internet access was 9 percent and 39 percent respectively; while computer ownership was put at 39 percent by women and 56 by men.
.H1 Is there hope?
Is there hope for bridging the digital divide in Jamaica? Yes. For example, in 2003 the government tried to put steps in place to address this issue. They placed Internet kiosks in many post offices, where anyone could have access by paying a small fee. Unfortunately this venture did not last due to the difficulty of maintaining the computers; the only successful one was the Liguanea Cyber Centre.
Although a noteworthy cause, there are many who feel the attempt at bridging the gap would have been more successful if libraries were used instead of post offices. Libraries are already seen as a source of information and they generally have on staff persons who are trained to offer information literacy instruction.
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Fortunately most libraries, even those in out-of-the-way rural areas now have Internet access, and many have high-speed access.
Interestingly, according to an article published in The World Information Society Report 2007, "Jamaica is the first middle income country to break the theoretical 100 percent mobile penetration barrier." This makes the country’s mobile subscription rate higher than Japan’s. Almost every single one of Jamaica’s 2.6 million people (including children) own a cellular phone or two. In 2005, there were 2.75 million mobile subscribers on the island.
A number of initiatives by government, civil society, non-governmental agencies, and overseas groups are working to help bridge the gap. By starting in the schools, The Harvard Berkman Center for Internet Society, and Teens for Technology are two US-based organizations working to help bridge the digital divide in Jamaica. These organizations have donated computers, software, and their time, to hundreds of Jamaican schools in order to ensure more children have access to computers.
As worthy as many of the efforts at closing the digital divide between the haves and the have-nots in Jamaica are, much more needs to be done.
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.H1 Product availability and resources
Download [[http://www.womenictenterprise.org/NadamotoWorkshopPresent.ppt|Gender and ICTs: Empowerment of Women in Telecentres in Jamaica]] (this is a PowerPoint file).
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