The International Digital Divide And a View From The Black Side

Mapping the global digital divide, 20 years ago I worked to prevent it her in America. Now with the uprising in Egypt, it is interesting to take a global look and then check back home.

The developed nations must invest in information and communications technologies (ICT) in the developing world not only the close the so-called digital divide but to encourage sustainable economic development and to create new markets for international commerce.

The gap between those at the top of tier 1 and the bottom of tier 4 is vast. There is 63 times more access per capita to personal computers, 42 times more internet users per capita and bandwidth is 25000 times better at the top than the bottom on average. Read more at www.sciencedaily.com

 As an IT director in New York City in the early days of the Internet roll out I worked hard to prevent what we at the Urban League and following the lead of my counterpart  The Rainbow Coalition called electronic red lining. We were focused on people like AT&T who were literally planing to build the Internet around the Black Community in Washington D.C. Naturally we all converged on Washington AT&T and the Baby Bells (regional phone company's from the AT&T breakup) to fix that. 20 or so years later who did we do.

Black people on the continent are not doing so well but how are Black people in America doing?

And what should we be doing to help our brothers and sisters on the continent. You are in Cyberspace are you connected to at least one continental African on the continent. Well what are you waiting for? Find a brother or sister and FB them today. I think I may try to find and indigenous Egyptian that was cut off from the world when Mubarak turned of the Egyptian Internet "switch". 

Share what you know and learn what you don't. 

 New Africans on the risE, at home and abroad.