United Nations fears the emergence of an international ‘digital divide’
The United Nations has said in a report on the state of the broadband internet in the world that the digital disparity between countries could become so great that it could be called a ‘digital divide’.
The report from the UN raises concerns about the widening disparities and inequalities between developed countries and third world countries. According to the organization, this is due to the growing inequality in the world. The UN sees better broadband internet and better ICT as necessary for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, such as reducing poverty and hunger and ensuring good education and good health.
South Korea is mentioned as an example of the rift that according to the UN threatens to arise. This country has the highest average speed in the world at 28.6Mbit/s, which is an improvement of 9 percent compared to the last quarter of 2016. Singapore has the highest peak speeds at 184.5Mbit/s. According to the UN, this contrasts sharply with the average internet speed in the world of 7.7Mbit/s, while that of Nigeria remains at 1.5Mbit/s. Furthermore, the report points to the fact that 52 percent of the world’s population does not yet have access to the Internet, and that despite the widespread use of the Internet, men still have access to the Internet more often than women.
The UN sees broadband internet and ICT as important factors for changing and improving traditional ways of doing business. For example, they ensure rapid growth of e-commerce and help to reduce trading costs, improve the availability of market information, and make it easier to reach a larger network of buyers. They also offer employment opportunities, partly because training and improving skills are made easier with good ICT and fast internet. It is precisely because of these positive effects that the UN is concerned about the increasing differences in the field of ICT and broadband internet.
The researchers, who used Huawei’s so-called Global Connectivity Index for the study, say they are aware of the discussions about the negative sides of the increasing share of automation and AI, in the sense that it would destroy jobs, for example. . However, the report points to an OECD study, which states that there are actually positive effects.