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Bootstrapping the digital divide: A situational analysis of digital demands and collective capabilities in low-income households

Anthony Mc Cosker, Julie Tucker

Information, Communication & Society, volume 28, issue 1 (2025), pp. 105-123

"This paper examines intersections between social disadvantage and digital inequality in low-income household settings using situational analysis. Partnering with social service organisations, we conducted qualitative fieldwork research over 12 months with low-income households in disadvantaged subu ... more

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Learning, Digital Skills, and the Global South

Jeffrey James

Cheltenham (UK); Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar Publishing (2025), vi, 122 pp.

"With our modern world relying more and more on Internet-based technologies, this timely book takes a renewed look at the ever-increasing digital divide between developing and more technologically advanced countries and the resulting impacts on achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Jef ... more

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Measuring Digital Development. Facts and Figures: Focus on Landlocked Developing States
Deep Insights

Geneva: ITU (2025), iv, 33 pp.

"Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs) face unique development challenges. Higher transportation costs, trade barriers, and limited connectivity impede economic integration. LLDCs rely on neighbouring countries for access to trade routes, resulting in delays and higher costs. These countries also ... more

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Deepening the data divide: Marginalised perspectives and non-profit priorities in Australian data sharing reforms

Xiaofang Yao, Anthony Mc Cosker, Yong-Bin Kang

Big Data & Society, issue January–March (2025), 13 pp.

"This paper investigates open public data and data sharing reforms in Australia (2018–2022) and their potential role in deepening the ‘data divide’. In the contemporary datafied welfare state, open public data and data sharing are increasingly vexed issues in times of data-driven artificial in ... more

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Measuring digital development: The affordability of ICT services 2024

Geneva: ITU (2025), iv, 27 pp.

"This edition’s findings highlight important progress: in 2024, mobile broadband services have become more affordable in most regions and for most income groups, and a growing number of countries are meeting the Broadband Commission’s target of entry-level broadband services costing less than 2 ... more

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Persisting inequalities in the digitalized society: Migrant women facing coercive dimensions of everyday digitalization

Ulla Buchert, Sirpa Wrede, Anne Kouvonen

Information, Communication & Society, volume 27, issue 5 (2024), pp. 935-950

"Understanding the ubiquitous digitalization of everyday life and associated inequalities presupposes rich conceptualizations of the associated social dynamics. Accordingly, we investigate digital service domestication as a social dimension of people’s lives, building on concepts that center users ... more

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Digitalization in China: Who’s left behind?

Anson Au

Information, Communication & Society, volume 27, issue 6 (2024), pp. 1247-1265

"In an age of digitalization, who still refuses to use digital technology? Drawing on nationally-representative Chinese General Social Survey data, this article finds that about half of Chinese households do not actively use the Internet or epayment systems, despite their ubiquity. This article esti ... more

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Digital Ecosystem Country Assessment (DECA): Ghana

Reyn Anderson, Yaroslav Eferin, Kate Gromova, Vlad Manoil, Victor Teppeh

USAID, Digital Frontiers Project, external version (2024), 149 pp.

"Ghana is among Sub-Saharan Africa’s leaders in digital transformation. Over the past decade, the government has put the key institutions, legislative frameworks, strategies, and policies in place that are necessary to drive change. The Ministry of Communications and Digitalization leads and coord ... inates development and implementation of a core set of policies and strategies that are digitally transforming the government, economy, and society. The ICT for Accelerated Development (ICT4AD) Policy has guided this journey for more than a decade. A new Digital Economy Policy is drafted and under review to drive the next stage of Ghana’s digital development. The National Financial Inclusion and Development Strategy and the National Cyber Security Policy and Strategy have also been key. Ghana adopted an inclusive approach to developing its cybersecurity strategy, which contributed to improved cybersecurity capacity and considered citizens’ online safety and freedoms. However, a clear strategy for protecting critical national infrastructure is missing. Ghana has been a pioneer and champion of digital government transformation in West Africa over the past decade, with funding and support from the World Bank. Important whole-of-government platforms and services have been put in place, including the Government Wide Area Network (GWAN), which provides internet connection to more than 1,000 district assemblies, hospitals, police stations, and post offices across the country; a National Data Center; the Smart workplace suite, which includes email and productivity tools for government employees; and Ghana.gov portal, a one-stop-shop for citizen services. Still, digital government transformation is incomplete. Easy, efficient, online government services are in demand, but the Ghana.gov portal options are limited, and most major government service providers have their own separate online services portals. The national identity Ghana Card could enhance digital service delivery by providing a universally recognized, secure, and easy-to-use means of digital identification and authentication for citizens when accessing both public and private digital services, but the current identification system is not integrated with other government-operated databases, significantly reducing its many potential applications. The Regional Coordinating Councils, and metropolitan, municipal, and district assemblies (MMDAs) are just now embarking on the digital transformation journey. The Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development coordinates their efforts. Challenges for Ghana’s remaining efforts at digital government transformation include adequate funding to manage and maintain its connectivity and data center infrastructure, affordable internet for regional governments, inadequate digital literacy and skills among mid-level and regional staff, or related national training programs. A big skill gap exists in cybersecurity; Ghana faces a deficit of skilled cybersecurity professionals. The government also needs to improve efforts at stakeholder engagement and awareness-raising when developing new policy proposals." (Executive summary, pages 11-12) more

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Digitalization & Gender Norms: Learnings from CARE's Digital Pilot for VSLA Members in Rwanda & Uganda

Eric Kaduru, Julia Arnold

Care (2024), 10 pp.

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Mirrored Spaces: Social Inequality in the Digital Age

Jörg Scheffer

Wiesbaden: Palgrave Macmillan (2024), xvii, 166 pp.

"Contrary to the prevailing narratives of "digital empowerment" and opportunities for every individual, this book argues that digitalisation massively curtails social advancement opportunities, consolidating existing social relations. From a spatial perspective, Scheffer demonstrates how socially di ... more

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Google Scholar (55)

WorldCat (63)

Mapping Lies in the Global Media Sphere

Tirse Erbaysal Filibeli, Melis Öneren Özbek (eds.)

London; New York: Routledge (2024), 224 pp.

"This volume addresses the concept of “(in)nocent lies” in the media – beyond the concept of misleading information online, this extends to a deliberate effort to spread misinformation, disinformation and conspiracy theories – and proposes a critical approach to tackle the issue in related i ... more

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Digital Inclusion: International Policy and Research

Simeon Yates, Elinor Carmi (eds.)

Cham: Palgrave Macmillan (2024), xix, 277 pp.

"With a special focus on the impact of the COVID-19, the collection is based on the 2021 Digital Inclusion, Policy and Research Conference, with chapters from both academia and civic organizations. The COVID-19 pandemic has changed citizens' relationship with digital technologies for the foreseeable ... more

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Connected Resilience: Gendered Experiences of Meaningful Connectivity through a Global Pandemic

Ingrid Brudvig, Sonia Jorge, Margaret Nyambura Ndung’u

Global Digital Inclusion Partnership (2024), 57 pp.

"Looking at patterns between those with meaningful connectivity — defined as having daily internet use with 4G-like speeds, owning a smartphone, and an unlimited access point at home, work, or a place of study — and those with just basic or no internet access at all, we saw key distinctions betw ... een women based on geography and education in our study sample which impacted their experiences of the internet. Across our six survey countries [Bangladesh, Cambodia, Ghana, Mozambique, South Africa, Uganda], women with a tertiary education were nearly twice as likely to be meaningfully connected compared to their peers with less education. Women living in rural areas were three times more likely to lack internet access than their urban-dwelling peers, while women living in cities were over 50% more likely to have meaningful connectivity. Meaningful connectivity enabled women around the world to learn, earn, access government and financial services, and connect with family and communities, thereby also saving essential time and money in transport costs. Women’s educational level and having meaningful connectivity are the strongest predictors of finding information online or participating in the digital economy. Women int erviewed in underserved localities — such as remote villaes in India and impoverished urban settlements in Nigeria — reported restricted digital access due to: lack of infrastructure (such as mobile towers); high cost of devices and data services; income-generating activities and unpaid care work leave little to no time available to access connectivity or digital skills educational initiatives; dependency on men in their family to use devices [...] We propose four tiers of achievable solutions — and call attention to policymakers, investors, and the ICT sector at large to fast-track meaningful connectivity and inclusive digital development for all: 1. Deep investments that use substantial resourcing to make profound changes in a specific policy area or for a specific community. Universal Service and Access Funds (USAFs) represent a key mechanism across the majority world for deep investment strategies. When well executed, they provide clear interventions with measurable changes in the lives of affected communities. 2. Grand visions that combine years of effort with substantial funding resources to revolutionize the status quo. National broadband plans and other key strategy documents — when appropriately supported and resourced through implementation stages — represent a core example of grand visions within this space. 3. Easy wins that are comparatively discreet and specific changes that can still create tangible value at their scale. Gender data — collecting it, creating it, analyzing it, and using it — is a critical component to several easy wins that have been implemented in recent years. Policymakers can start from this level of research and measurement to make clear steps in the right direction. 4. Scalable systems that represent large, programmatic change in the pre-existing ways of working. Multistakeholder approaches and gender targets can provide the foundation for long-term, ongoing processes that scale progress towards closing the gender digital divide. By using policy and regulation to create mechanisms and procedures that consider digital inclusion, policymakers can build habits and routines that gradually and consistently change the course of history." (Executive summary, pages 2-4) more

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Measuring Digital Development. Facts and Figures: Focus on Small Island Developing States
Deep Insights

Geneva: ITU (2024), v, 33 pp.

"In this special edition of ITU's Facts and Figures series, we explore the impressive progress and ongoing obstacles Small Island Developing States (SIDS) encounter amid the digital revolution. On the occasion of the fourth International Conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDS4), our goal ... more

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Digital Ecosystem Country Assessment (DECA): Mali

Sophia Anong, Bouchaib Bounabat, Patrick Malone

USAID, Digital Frontiers Project (2023), 99 pp.

"The Mali Digital Ecosystem Country Assessment (DECA) report presents the findings and recommendations of the Mali DECA. It outlines the key aspects of Mali’s digital ecosystem and provides 11 recommendations for creating a more inclusive, safe, and enabling environment. Guided by 3 USAID/Mali pri ... more

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Digital Development, Inequalities & the Sustainable Development Goals: What Does ‘Leave No-One Behind’ Mean for ICT4D?

Franz-Ferdinand Rothe, Leo Van Audenhove, Jan Loisen

Information Technology for Development, volume 29, issue 1 (2023), pp. 9-26

"The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) place great emphasis on inequalities and pledge to leave no-one behind. For the field of digital development, this objective presents a particular challenge. While digital technologies can be utilized to reduce certain inequalities, they ar ... more

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Colombia: Tecnología, esfera pública y periodismo

Gabriel Ernesto Levy Bravo, María Cecilia Hernández Ocampo, María Paula Ángel Benavides

London: Media and Journalism Research Center (MJRC); Observacom; Universidade de Santiago de Compostela (USC) (2023), 21 pp.

"Si bien las cifras de acceso y uso de las TIC han mejorado progresivamente, están lejos de ser óptimas. Lo mismo pasa con las relacionadas con la conectividad. De cualquier forma, lo más preocupante en ambos casos es la diferencia que existe entre las cabeceras municipales y los centros poblados ... y las zonas rurales. La brecha es grande y parece estar lejos de cerrarse, a pesar de los esfuerzos que el Gobierno y otros actores han hecho en este sentido. Las barreras geográficas, sociales y económicas siguen siendo difíciles de atajar, por lo que hay pendientes en distintos frentes. La lucha contra la desigualdad y el desarrollo de la infraestructura son sólo algunos de ellos. En 2021 el porcentaje de hogares a nivel nacional que poseía algún tipo de televisor era de 89.5 %. En cuanto a la infraestructura para recibir servicios de televisión, las cifras variaron dependiendo de la zona. Por ejemplo, la televisión por cable fue la más usada en las cabeceras municipales, mientras que la televisión abierta fue la más usada en los centros poblados y zonas rurales. Para ese mismo periodo, el porcentaje de hogares que poseía computador de escritorio, portátil o tableta fue de 37.9 % y el porcentaje de personas que tenía teléfono celular de cualquier tipo era de 76.3 %. En cuanto a la conectividad, el 60.5 % del total nacional de hogares poseía conexión fija a Internet, con mayor proporción en las cabeceras. Sin embargo, esta relación se invirtió en las áreas rurales, donde la conexión móvil, a la que un 75 % de la población total tenía acceso, fue más popular. En cuanto a operadores de Internet fijo, el mercado lo domina Claro, seguido de Tigo y Movistar. Con respecto a operadores de Internet móvil, el mercado también lo domina Claro y le siguen Movistar y Tigo. Ahora bien, dentro del total de personas que utilizaron Internet, el dispositivo através del cual se reportó mayor acceso a este servicio es el teléfono celular con 93.9 %. De los usuarios de Internet entre 16 a 64 años que usan plataformas de redes sociales, el 94 % del universo analizado por el estudio We Are Social utilizó WhatsApp, seguido muy de cerca por Facebook con un 91.7 % e Instagram con un 84.4 %, todas pertenecientes al conglomerado Meta. En cuanto al alcance de la audiencia potencial de los medios sociales digitales conectados, Facebook llevó la delantera, seguido de YouTube e Instagram. Sobre lo relacionado con motores de búsqueda, sin importar la tecnología de hardware que se emplee, Google se ubicó en el primer lugar con una concentración del 97,19 % del total de usuarios que realizó búsquedas en Internet. Como se ve, hay compañías con gran dominio en el mercado y, aunque existe la sensación de variedad, lo cierto es que no es así. Por otro lado, aunque el país está más conectado que antes y los ciudadanos tienen más opciones que antes para consumir información, los medios no la tienen fácil. Aparte de las tensiones por la pauta publicitaria, que se han visto exacerbadas por el rol de conglomerados como Meta y Google, tienen más competencia y, en muchos sentidos, más obstáculos que antes. Sortear estos retos adecuadamente es clave y está estrechamente ligado con su capacidad de mantenerse a flote económicamente y de ganarse o recuperar la confianza del público, especialmente en momentos donde la desinformación y las noticias falsas son el pan de cada día." (Conclusiones, página 20-21) more

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Colombia: Technology, Public Sphere and Journalism

Gabriel Ernesto Levy Bravo, María Cecilia Hernández Ocampo, María Paula Ángel Benavides

London: Media and Journalism Research Center (MJRC); Observacom; University of Santiago de Compostela (USC) (2023), 16 pp.

"Although the figures for access and use of ICT have gradually improved in Colombia, the situation is far from optimal. The same goes for connectivity. The most concerning aspect overall is the difference between urban centers and rural areas. The gap is significant and seems to be far from closing, ... despite the efforts made by the government and other actors to narrow this gap. Geographic, social, and economic barriers continue to be difficult to tackle. In 2021, the percentage of households nationwide that owned some type of television was 89.5%. As for the infrastructure to receive television services, the figures varied depending on the area. For example, cable television was the most used in municipal capitals, while free-to-air television was most used in rural areas. The same year, the percentage of households that owned a desktop computer, laptop, or tablet was 37.9%, and the percentage of people who had a cell phone of any type was 76.3%. As for connectivity, 60.5% of the total national households had fixed internet connection, with a higher proportion in large cities. In rural areas, mobile connection, which 75% of the total population have access to, is more popular. As for fixed Internet operators, the market is dominated by Claro, followed by Tigo and Movistar. Regarding mobile internet suppliers, the market is also dominated by Claro, followed by Movistar and Tigo. Among internet users, the device most used to get online access is the cellphone with 93.9%. WhatsApp is the most popular social media platform with 94% of internet users, followed very closely by Facebook with 91.7% and Instagram with 84.4%, all belonging to the Meta conglomerate. Google leads in the search engine market with more than 97% of all users who performed searches on the internet. Thus, although the internet seems to be a diverse market, the truth is that it is not so. On the other hand, although the country is more connected than ever before and citizens have more options to consume information, the media do not have it easy. Apart from tensions over advertising revenue, which have been exacerbated by the growing power of conglomerates like Meta and Google, they face more competition and, in many ways, more obstacles than before. Successfully overcoming those challenges is key and depends on their ability to stay afloat economically and to earn or regain the public's trust, especially in times when disinformation and fake news are everyday realities." (Conclusions, page 16) more

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The gender digital gap: Shifting the theoretical focus to systems analysis and feedback loops

Raluca David, Toby Philipps

Information, Communication & Society, volume 26, issue 10 (2023), pp. 2071-2087

"The past decades have seen efforts to increase digital inclusion for women worldwide, with the ultimate aim to advance gender equality. However, progress is slow, despite important advances in moving beyond a focus on ‘digital access’ (as measured by network coverage and hardware) towards a mor ... more

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Measuring Digital Development. Facts and Figures: Focus on Least Developed Countries

Geneva: ITU (2023), v, 21 pp.

"[...] This publication provides an overview of the state of digital connectivity in Least Developed Countries (LDCs), drawing on the data from ITU’s flagship publication Facts and Figures 2022. Since the Fourth United Nations Conference on Least Developed Countries in 2011, progress has been made ... more

Measuring Digital Development. Facts and Figures: Focus on Landlocked Developing States Deep Insights

Measuring Digital Development. Facts and Figures: Focus on Small Island Developing States Deep Insights

Measuring Digital Development. Facts and Figures: Focus on Landlocked Developing States
Deep Insights

Measuring Digital Development. Facts and Figures: Focus on Small Island Developing States
Deep Insights