Singh, Part 7
2.7 Role of dot–com companies
Dot–com companies have played an important role in bridging the digital divide in the country. They have become the largest buzzword in the IT industry. Portals like Rediff.com and Siffy.com are in a battle royal for the title of number one e–mail provider. The two major global players, Yahoo! and Hotmail, are quite popular in the country. More than 90 percent of browsers access the Internet to check their mail. These companies have become the most viable marketing and advertising vehicles on the Internet. Rediffmail has grown by a whopping 94 percent to 4.08 million users, more than that of Hotmail’s 2.3 million users. Rediff is presently available in 11 Indian languages [14].
The earthquake in the state of Gujrat provided a unique example to this industry with its coverage in the portal Global Earthquake Response Center (www.earthquake.com). It has given birth to coverage of crucial events and breaking news with area specific coverage; for example Ahemedabad.com and Kutchinfo.com took active part in providing ground news and information at the time of the quake. Dotcom companies are also playing an important role in promoting e–business. People from any corner of the country can purchase e–market products they need with the click of a few buttons. Reservations for railway and airline tickets have already gained popularity and are catching up with the common people.
Challenges and Barriers to Bridging the Digital Divide
A fundamental requirement for reducing the digital divide in countries is to give priority to the development of their communication infrastructure and provide universal and affordable access to information to individuals in all geographical areas of the country. There are a number of barriers to bridging the digital divide. Although underserved communities in India are gaining access to computers and the Internet their benefits are limited because of the following factors.
Infrastructural barriers
Despite the incredible growth of the Internet since the early 1990’s, India still lacks a robust telecommunication infrastructure with sufficient reliable bandwidth for Internet connection. Due to higher costs the necessary upgrading of hardware and software is difficult; hence, despite the rapid spread of the Internet the gap is growing wider as the technological standard grows even higher. Faster networks, higher level machines, more complex software and more capable professionals are required, but in many nations including India the funding is not available to support these developments.
Libraries and information centres, with their commitment to freedom of access to information and promotion of life–long learning in India, are yet to have a robust infrastructure. Public libraries which can provide access to the Internet do not have computers and Internet access. Although cyber–cafes have been increasing, poor people cannot afford to have access due to high cost.
Literacy and skill barriers
Education and information literacy will play an important role in keeping society from fragmenting into information haves and have–nots. In the perspective of the digital divide, IT literacy is very important to allow access to digital information. In a country like India where roughly 50 percent of people do not have reading and writing skills for functioning in everyday life, IT literacy is out of the question. Generally, online content and information have been designed for an audience that reads at an average or advanced literacy level and those who have discretionary money to spend.
Education in information literacy will play an important role in keeping the society from fragmenting into a population of information haves and have–nots. The lack of skill in using computer and communication technology also prevents people from accessing digital information.
Economic barriers
Poor access to computer and communication technology also causes a digital divide. In India the ability to purchase or rent the tool for access to digital information is less among the masses. The lower income group does not have discretionary money to spend on cyber–cafes or to get Internet connectivity on their own to access digital information.
Content barriers
The Internet allows ideas and information to be shared freely from citizen to citizen globally. In many ways the strength of the Internet is a function of the number of people and organisations creating quality content. Since no entity controls the Internet, anyone with Internet access has the potential to contribute information. Therefore, to solve the digital divide, steps should be taken by the government to ensure that all citizens are able to receive diverse content relevant to their lives as well as to produce their own content for their communities and for the Internet at large.
Language barriers
India is a country having a multicultural and multilingual population. Today a large percentage of information content on the Internet is in English, which is a barrier for the people whose primary language is not English.
Conclusion
The unequal access to information and communication technologies has led to the digital divide not only in developing countries but globally as well. Although India has made encouraging efforts to bridge the gap by initiating a number of projects and programmes for rural and remote locations, a lot more needs to be done to bring the people into the information society. All that is required is strong determination among people, good policy–makers and political support to bridge the digital divide. Libraries and information centres have a special role in providing information to all in order to reduce the gap between those who have the facilities to access digital information and those who do not. The country needs to improve the infrastructure of public libraries and link them with community information centres.