Mobile Phones First

I agree with the point made in The Economist article, “The Real Digital Divide” that providing poor countries with Internet access will not solve the problem of the digital divide or help these countries to become rich. Developing countries are not poor because of their lack of Internet access; they lack Internet access because they are poor. As it was written in the article, “…A computer is not useful if you have no food or electricity and cannot read.” What good will Internet access do for the impoverished people in these countries if they can’t properly utilize it?

Although mobile phones also do not solve the underlying problems of the digital divide, the more widespread use of this technology in poor countries can create steps towards closing the gap a little more. I agree that they are a much more logical way to “promote bottom-up development." Mobile phones are not complicated to aquire, maintain, or use. The economic impact that they have in these countries can already be seen and will continue to grow if they are more widely dispersed. Efforts to close the gap in the digital divide should take one step at a time and focus on mobile phones before the Internet.