The concept of an "information society" reflects thefar-reaching changes that are taking place in the world today, as digital media isintroduced and refined. This process has opened up promising opportunities for developingcountries, but it has also given rise to new types of exclusion: the "internationaldigital divide," which threatens to widen the abyss between developed and developingnations even further, and the "domestic digital divide," which is just asserious a threat in terms of the further expansion of the vast social distances betweendifferent groups of citizens within countries. In many ways, given the strikinginequalities that mar our society, the domestic digital divide in the countries of LatinAmerica and the Caribbean is even deeper and poses a more formidable challenge than theinternational divide.
The impact of the international divide has been declining as our regionhas seen the fastest growth in Internet use in the world in recent years. In 2002, 8% ofthe population had Internet access, compared to 9% worldwide. Mobile telephones are usedby 18% of our region's inhabitants, while the global average is 19%.
In contrast, the domestic digital divide has been deepening. Nearly 70% ofthe richest 15% of the region's population has access to the Internet, versus the 10%connectivity rate overall. A new form of exclusion is beginning to emerge, one that isreflected in the existence of tiny islands of connectivity amidst an ocean of citizens whoare excluded from the benefits of this transformation. This "digital exclusion"makes it imperative for us to ensure at least a basic minimum of universal access toinformation infrastructure. This is not simply a matter of hooking up computers; it alsoentails providing the population with the necessary training to make use of newtechnologies.
The key question to be answered by developing countries is not whether toattain connectivity or not, but rather when and how to do so. National strategies shouldbe designed in order to take the three dimensions of the information society into account:its technological requirements (infrastructure and generic services), the differente-sectors' institutional and organizational realities
"The key question to be answered by developing countries is not whether to attain connectivity or not, but rather when and how to do so".
and requirements, and this new society's requirements in terms ofregulatory systems, financial mechanisms, and human capital. In order to break down thisdomestic digital divide, we have to reduce individual access costs by providingshared-access systems, provide simple, low-cost hardware and design policy strategies forpromoting the use of open-source standards and software. Users need to be given"e-literacy" training, and a workforce capable of sustaining the informationsociety has to be trained and maintained.
As a region we must take action to facilitate cooperation among nationalauthorities, civil society and the private sector. Policies should be aimed at harmonizingthe countries´ legal and regulatory frameworks, setting up financing mechanisms to ensurethe continuity of the information society, creating and sharing regional content, andsupporting the development of human capital. A regional observatory should be set up,which can be used to monitor progress towards the goals to be defined in 2003 and 2005 atthe UN´s World Summit on the Information Society.
The harmonization of existing legislative and regulatory frameworks shouldhelp to facilitate and encourage digital communications and transactions, and theformulation of a strategy for successfully positioning the region at the internationallevel will increase our ability to influence this global process. This will give us morebargaining power in areas of such vital importance as software licensing, the productionof low-cost hardware and the introduction of thirdgeneration mobile telephony and digitaltelevision.
The countries of the region that succeed in moving towards full membershipin the global information society will have promising possibilities available to them inthe future. But perhaps never before has this window of opportunity been on the verge ofclosing so rapidly, nor has the risk of missing out entailed such enormous costs forfuture generations.