Coronavirus and the Internet: Will the Pandemic Close the Digital Divide Between Rich and Poor?

During the coronavirus outbreak, the Internet has been a lifeline for many, allowing millions of people to work from home, get medical advice and stay in touch with the world.

But for millions of others, uninterrupted, high-speed Internet is either unavailable or unaffordable. The coronavirus lockdown has put our reliance on the internet under a microscope, highlighting inequality and its impact on one's chances in life. It also gave new impetus to a campaign calling for access to reliable Internet service to be considered an inherent human right.

Difficulties in Education

"I went around my house and neighborhood and tried different places. Still, I couldn't get a strong signal," Namitha Narayanan recalls. This 20-year-old student from Kerala, southern India, has suffered for years from poor internet and mobile phone signals.

"When a phone call comes in, we run out of the house to answer it," says Namitha. She lives in a village without high-speed broadband internet. They rely on mobile internet and have tried to change service providers, but - like millions - they simply can't get a good internet connection. And with more people using mobile networks and accessing the internet during the lockdown, your internet service situation has gone from bad to worse.

"I was going here and there but I couldn't get a good signal," says Namitha. Her college reopened its doors on June 1 and moved from classroom instruction to live-streamed lectures — and now Namitha missed a lot of them. "I can't see or hear the lectures," she says. "I got depressed because of the poor network. Even if I get a connection, it's not stable."

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Namitha mutes the video to improve the sound quality, but she still can't hear the lectures without distortion or pauses. "A lot of my friends are facing the same problem. A few of them have bought new phones and changed service providers," she adds.

Learning on the roof

The internet is the only access for Namaitha to education, as she cannot go to libraries or attend education classes during the lockdown period.

"Then my father said to me: 'Go try the roof of the house.' I climbed up to the roof using a ladder that we usually use to pick mangoes," says Namitha.

The idea worked.

"On the roof, I was able to watch the lectures and take notes," Namitha continues.

She started spending four hours every day on the roof of the house, which was about 10 meters off the ground. "I also carried an umbrella because it rained sometimes," Namitha adds.

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Namitha is looking forward to working as a government employee. For this purpose, she must pass an examination that is conducted at the level of the whole country. She says poor internet will hurt her chances of competing with students living in the city.

Benefits of being online

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Namitha's experience is exemplary in many ways. More than four billion people now use the Internet, and the growing popularity and affordable price of smartphones paved the way for the Internet boom, which in turn brought amazing economic and social benefits.

For example, the Internet has enabled farmers and fishermen in some of the poorest parts of the world to obtain information about weather, pest control, government projects, and markets.

In countries like Myanmar, where few people have bank accounts, a mobile money transfer service helps families send and receive money. In 2000, the price of a SIM card was $5,000 - about the price of a used car. Now this chip is available for free, which is what makes a shift in banking transactions in that country.

According to the United Nations, this access to the Internet is an essential element in eradicating poverty and hunger, improving the level of health services and achieving gender equality.

The UN's Broadband Internet Commission wants broadband internet use to increase to 75% of the world's population by 2025 - the latest figures only point to 60%, with Africa and Asia lagging far behind.

The digital divide

However, these numbers hide huge differences and inequalities.

According to a report by the International Telecommunication Union, approximately 87% of the population in rich countries had access to the Internet in 2019, but this percentage did not exceed 19% in less developed countries.

According to the same report, the number of male Internet users exceeds the number of female Internet users in all regions of the world. The percentage of females who use the Internet worldwide is 48%, compared to 58% for males. In less developed countries, one out of every four males uses the Internet, while the percentage among females is one out of every eight females. In addition, the internet service that people get in remote areas of poor countries is too slow to work from home. This means that some struggle to carry out normal tasks such as paying bills.

People with low-speed or low-quality internet may not be able to learn and work remotely, improve their digital skills and develop opportunities for more rewarding jobs,” says Alex Wong, senior strategy advisor at the International Telecommunication Union. They can connect with families and friends to keep themselves healthy."

Affordability

About 750 million people do not have access to mobile internet at all, according to the same report, and cost remains a major barrier for many others.

"At least 1.3 billion people live in countries where offers of a small Internet service (one gigabyte per month) are beyond people's reach," says Wong.

The Affordable Internet Coalition is an international coalition pushing for cheaper internet service, and wants a gigabyte of data to be sold for less than 2% of the country's average monthly income. "There are lots of ways to do this," says Teddy Woodhouse, Research Director. "Sharing infrastructure, supporting market competition, lowering network operating fees, and supporting public Internet access are all policy decisions countries can make to make Internet access more affordable." "Not having access to the internet in today's world puts you at a disadvantage," Teddy told the BBC. "Unless we invest in making the internet available to more people, the digital divide could make existing inequalities worse. It's time we make internet access a requirement." necessary for the common good and a fundamental right as it really is.”

A fundamental right

Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web, calls for urgent action to make the Internet more inclusive. Addressing a United Nations meeting this month, Berners-Lee said, "Our first focus should be closing the digital divide. The Internet has provided a lifeline to billions of people during the coronavirus pandemic, allowing them to work, education and socialize, but nearly 3.5 billion people missed out." this chance."

"This inequality is a barrier to achieving equality on a large scale, and we know it disproportionately affects those who are already marginalized - people in developing countries, those on low incomes and of course women and girls," added Berners-Lee.

Berners-Lee and his foundation are helping the United Nations develop a roadmap for closing the digital divide and urging governments to target excluded groups such as those with low incomes, women and rural families.

The United Nations affirmed its campaign for equality in a resolution issued in 2016, in which it declared that freedom on the Internet is a human right that must be defended. The resolution proposes that "a comprehensive approach based on human rights be applied to the provision and expansion of Internet access and that the Internet be open, accessible and caring."

Equal Opportunities

Namitha, who speaks from her home in Kerala, agrees: “The Internet is a very powerful tool. But when you lose access to it, it is not possible to follow the lessons. Everyone should have access to the service. Internet with high quality and speed, and only then can everyone compete on an equal footing.”

For now, Namitha's fortunes have improved. Her sister uploaded a photo of her studying on the roof of the house, and the photo went viral on the Internet.

After that, one of the service providers came to their house and strengthened their network signal, which enabled her to come down from the roof and learn in her room. She can now access study materials and notes with friends.

Although the new internet connection is still not good enough to allow Wi-Fi access to her computer, she is happy to be able to talk to her teachers and ask questions on her mobile phone. “Now I can watch the live broadcast of the lectures completely in class,” says Namitha. Not all of her rural friends can say that. They can't even think of going to the roof of the house in the heavy monsoon rains.