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Broadband divide 'will not go away on its own'
Friday 30th October 2009, by Daniel King
One industry expert has commented on the current state of the broadband sector and how the digital divide between those who can afford and those who cannot afford a web connection is being addressed.
A spokeswoman for UK Online Centres, an organisation that seeks to help people who do not have home access to the internet as well as provide education and support on computing, said more would need to be done if the government wanted to get more people surfing.
Helen Milner, managing director for the group, noted that if it was though that the nation required schemes to help more people migrate towards the web, this should be backed by proposals to close the apparent "gap between the have-nets and have-nots".
She said that as it stands, 50 per cent of those in the latter category are in the over-65 age range, but as people now live longer, this was not a demographic that was simply going to go away any time soon.
In addition, Ms Milner highlighted the other half of the UK that is digitally excluded, noting that these come from "the very lowest socio-economic groups", around 70 per cent of which live in social housing and simply cannot afford the associated technology.
"People are at a disadvantage if they are not able to take digital opportunities or make digital choices, and its those already at a disadvantage most likely to be affected," she concluded.
Earlier this year, UK Online Centres published a report that showed the most popular reasons for signing up to broadband were keeping in touch and having access to information.
Categories: Broadband, Broadband Products
