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Digital Citizenship : Digital Divide
Digital Divide
Computers and technology are integral in today's information society, but not everyone has equal access to devices and high-speed internet.
"Today, high-speed broadband is not a luxury, it's a necessity." - President Barack Obama
"Internet access is "a basic human right, like access to health care or water." - Mark Zuckerberg
Tips
- Recycle
Donate your old technology to reBOOT - Opens in a new window who will refurbish equipment and donate it to people who don't have access to tech tools. - Donate
To initiatives like One Laptop Per Child Canada - Opens in a new window who are working to bring technology to Indigenous students. - Advocate
Support groups like The Affordable Access Coalition and Open Media - Opens in a new window who are petitioning the CRTC to subsidize internet access and make mobile internet more accessible to Canadians.
Spotlight on Initiatives
- Internet for All(ACORN Canada)
- One Laptop Per Child Canada
- Open Media
- Project Loon
- reBOOT
- Renewed Computer Technology
The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) Canada - Opens in a new window is a national organization that advocates for low- and moderate-income families for causes like income reform and affordable housing. Internet for All - Opens in a new window is ACORN Canada's campaign for accessible digital technologies for Canadians.
One Laptop Per Child Canada - Opens in a new window is a non-profit organization that helps provide electronic technologies and workshops for indigenous communities in Canada.
Open Media - Opens in a new window is a nonpartisan, non-profit organization in Canada that advocates to keep the Internet “open, affordable, and surveillance-free”. In addition to advocacy they provide informational resources on digital rights for Canadians
Project Loon - Opens in a new window is a network of balloons that provides internet connectivity to people living in areas that are remote or otherwise lacking the infrastructure for internet access.
Oct. 2017: - Opens in a new window Project Loon hopes to bring emergency connectivity to Puerto Rico after Hurricanes Irma and Maria left more than 90 percent of the island without cellphone coverage
reBOOT Canada - Opens in a new window is a non-profit organization that refurbishes donated electronics and distributes them to non-profits, charities, and individuals. They also advance digital literacy skills for Canadians.
Renewed Computer Technology (RCT) - Opens in a new window RCT’s primary focus is extending the life of technology through reuse. We refurbish our donations as much as possible, and redistribute them to schools, charities, not-for-profit organizations, and to low income learners across Ontario. Unusable equipment or equipment that is not in demand at the time of donation is recycled in an environmentally friendly manner under our RCTech RENEW Program.
The Digital Divide
The idea of the "digital divide" refers to the growing gap between the underprivileged members of society, especially the poor, rural, elderly, and handicapped portion of the population who do not have access to computers or the internet; and the wealthy, middle-class, and young Americans living in urban and suburban areas who have access (from Stanford University's web resource on the Digital Divide - Opens in a new window )
These barriers are typical of others along axes of marginalizations such as race, gender identity, sexuality, disability, class, age and others; and can take form of not being able to apply for certain jobs they otherwise qualify for, participate in social activities, and presenting difficulties in completing school assignments which require access to digital technologies.
Internet as a Basic Service
In December 2016 the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commision (the Canadian federal regulating agency for broadcasting and communications) ruled that broadband internet is a basic service - Opens in a new window . This means that in addition to telephone services, access to broadband internet at a minimum speed is an essential service broadcast providers must offer, however the CRTC did not address the pricing of access to the internet.
Further reading:
- CRTC broadband Internet ruling still leaves room for high prices (Toronto Star) - Opens in a new window
- OPINION What good is declaring broadband a 'basic service' without regulating retail prices? (CBC News) - Opens in a new window
Canadian Statistics
- 87% of households are now connected to the internet, compared to 80% in 2010.
- Canada ranks 16th globally in terms of internet penetration rates.
- While 95% of Canadians in the highest income quartile are connected, just 62% in the lowest income quartile have internet access.
- Broadband is available to 100% of Canadians in urban areas, compared to 85% in rural areas.
- Only 27% of communities in Nunavut have internet access.
- British Columbia and Alberta have the largest number of connected households, with 86%, while connection rates were lowest in Quebec and on the East Coast, where rates are under 80%.
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