Overcoming a Lousy Year for Closing the Digital Divide

January 10, 2008

 

"Intel Quits Effort to Get Computers to Children."  Quite a buzz kill, courtesy of a recent New York Times headline, but that was far from the only news in 2007 that doesn’t bode well for efforts to put computers and internet access into the hands of the world’s poorest citizens.  A veritable avalanche of failed and abandoned municipal wireless projects – many with the stated intention of bringing the web to the downtrodden and disconnected  -- casts doubt on our ability to close the digital access gap on some scale.

 

It seems that a few of the lessons we’ve learned should point to new ways to think about solutions to the domestic digital divide:

 

(1) We Need to Separate Digital Inclusion Efforts in the Developing World from U.S. Digital Inclusion Efforts

One Laptop Per Child – the initiative to bring $100 ‘XO’ laptops to children in developing nations – may or may not survive the Intel setback and its tepid early demand.  But it should have been clear from the beginning that crafting an entirely new device from scratch was not going to be the magic bullet needed to reach the masses in American inner cities.  Cheap computers abound here, businesses cast away thousands of machines each year that already have 10 times the computing power and functionality of the XO, and a drive through even our poorest and toughest neighborhoods proves the prevalence of market-rate electronics ranging from satellite dishes to HDTVs.

(2) Shift the Focus Away from Municipal Wireless as the Preferred Vehicle for Universal Access

Wireless internet access that blankets urban areas may yet find a business model that works.  But Houston, Chicago, and others have already ceased their muni-wifi efforts, and Philadelphia’s first-in-the-nation big city plan has been beset by huge delays and cost over-runs.  The lessons for cities should be clear: don’t put all your digital inclusion eggs in the basket of municipal wireless.  More targeted efforts, like hard-wiring public housing projects with broadband, might make sense.  And the proliferation of “air cards” that allow ubiquitous access to the net through cell phone connections might serve as a breakthrough technology for inclusion.

(3) We Need to Make Sure People Have the Context and the Training to Make the Best of PCs and the Internet

In the end, a computer is a box that’s not likely to be immediately relevant to changing the life circumstances of those whom digital inclusion programs target.  But a number of programs have had some success in turning this tide.  Computers for Youth – a national organization that synchronizes computer instruction with in-school learning and brings technology to low-income homes with the requirement that parents get involved in using and learning about PCs – is big step in the right direction.  And The Beehive – a project of the nonprofit One Economy -- is a multi-lingual web portal that provides low-income people tools and information about financial services, education, jobs, health care, and family.  In other words, it offers real, usable tools that make computers and internet access imperative for those who otherwise not be exposed to the value of digital connectedness.  The Beehive has even become a leading conduit for tax filing and Earned Income Tax Credit processing among low-income families.

(4) We Need to Move Quickly From Access to Opportunity

Getting people in front of PCs and online is an obvious first step, but disconnected kids and families are years behind the curve when it comes to using technology as a tool to access jobs and opportunities.  All but the most menial jobs now require some form of computer literacy, and many entry-level positions can only be applied for online.  Further up the job ladder, the digitally divided are precluded from the plethora of economic opportunities in IT-related fields.  A number of efforts try to tackle this challenge, with the Camden, NJ-based Hopeworks program emerging as a small, but innovative leader.  Hopeworks is a non-profit business venture that trains at-risk kids in web programming and GIS technology, recruits clients for web design work, and employs the kids in structured project teams to deliver client services.  Kids get 21st century skills in a real business environment.

Yes, there have been setbacks in the push for digital inclusion.  But, with just 45% of Americans who earn $30,000 or less having access to in-home high-speed broadband connections, we have to continue to force the issue and build on the good work that has been done to connect the disconnected.