Real Digital Diversity (The)

This article is written by Seán Ó Siochrú in response to The Economist's article entitled "The Real Digital Diversity." In that article, a premise is made that mobile phones can bridge the digital divide. Ó Siochrú contends that this is not the full story. He faults The Economist article for making generalisations about solutions that he describes as one-size-fits-all in respect to technologies (GSM mobile), to applications (telephones), and to regulatory approaches (liberalisation and competition).

Ó Siochrú agrees that mobile phones have proven to be very successful but he argues that they are not necessarily the least expensive or best way to bring telephone services to the poor and rural areas. He points to one one-size-fits-all project based in Bangladesh that failed in Nigeria. The project sought to bring telephones to poor, rural areas, but failed in Nigeria because of significant differences such as a lack of high population density, availability of micro-credit and low-cost interconnections.

According to Siochrú, The Economist article is correct in lauding the benefits of the phone. Based on research, there is evidence that poor people will pay a high price for a phone call because of the perceived benefits. At the same time, email and internet access are both showing significant benefits as well, in spite of the fact that they take more time and resources to develop in respect to helping the poor. Ó Siochrú notes that new technology, based on wireless
networks (WiFi, WiMax, CorDECT etc.) and the use of Internet Protocol (IP), are available and being implemented in development contexts at significantly
reduced costs. He notes that these technologies are now developed enough to provide voice and data, at low costs, to entire towns and villages.

Ó Siochrú makes reference to the private sector's unwillingness to commit to long-term investment needs when it comes to bandwidth, and alludes to Africa to make his point. He offers examples of community-owned and community-driven networks in Argentina, Peru, Poland and India where wireless technologies are offering small scale, low-cost, low maintenance data and voice networks.

Ó Siochrú believes that the main reason widespread applications of technology are not occurring is based on the absence of a supportive regulatory and institutional environment. Ó Siochrú, states that "technology neutrality, slowly but surely gaining acceptance, would remove barriers to the deployment of whatever technology suits needs best." Further, he asks the question, "how can local communities gain access to funding that recognises and values the development returns of the investment and not simply the financial returns demanded by conventional investors?

Ó Siochrú believes that regulatory changes can not solve everything but that a variety of regulatory options mixed and matched to suit different needs could be useful. He believes that it is essential to seek out regulatory innovation and to remain open to suitable options because the suggestion that there are exclusive solutions is too restrictive for the diversity of needs and environments.