Despite progress in internet access globally, and market reforms bringing millions of people online, current policy and regulatory approaches have led to poor universal access outcomes. Conservatively, 4.5 billion people are not meaningfully digitally connected, many of them in Africa. This excludes many people from effective citizenship and participation in an increasingly digital economy and society.
This exclusion is caused by a lack of public data to inform policy and limited responsiveness of existing policies to the available evidence. Supply-side interventions aim to increase the supply of services (laying fibre-optic cables and mobile phone towers). In contrast, demand-side interventions focus on enabling people to use accessible services (ensuring affordability, awareness and skills). Evidence from regions with the lowest connectivity rates primarily identifies demand-side barriers, yet policy responses remain predominantly focused on supply-side and infrastructure interventions.
These inequalities exist not only between those online and offline, but also between those who can use the Internet optimally and those who are ‘barely’ online. The digital inequality paradox lies in the empirical observation that as more people connect to digital technologies, digital inequalities are increasing.
Issues such as disparities in wealth, social inequality and educational deficits fall outside the usual purview of Departments of communications or digital economy. However, these need to be addressed to achieve digital inclusion. This will require a transversal policy that coordinates intervention across the public sector, promotes cooperation between the public and private sectors, and incentivises civil society, while still meeting national needs and promoting national interests in alignment with more inclusive global governance. This paper looks at alternative reguatory strategies that can facilitate digital inclusion through demand-side interventions.
