Reader Response Draft 4

In the article “World wakes up to digital divide”, Wakefield (2010) states that digital divide has become a global concern. Statistics from the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) show that there is a widening gap between countries that have access to the Internet and countries that do not. The author believes that digital divide is correlated to the economic status of the countries. In response to the divide, less developed countries such as Hungary have been implementing wi-fi village programmes to reach out to users in rural villages. Wakefield (2010) also mentions that by gaining access to the Internet, the minorities will benefit in various aspects such as keeping in touch with their culture and also receiving specialized online healthcare services. However, it is asserted in the article that minorities will only gain advantage from the Internet if they are equipped with the knowledge on how to use it.

In Malaysia, the disparity in internet usage between urban and rural areas appears to be less distinct. In urban areas of Malaysia, 66 percent of youths use the Internet, while in the rural area, 56 percent of the youths use the Internet (Azhar, 2012). At a national internet penetration rate of over 60 percent (Azhar, 2012), it seems that the country’s initiatives to reach out to the rural community residents have been proven effective to a certain extent. However, the speed of Internet connection and the high costs of maintenance services of digital devices remains a major obstacle in bridging the digital divide between urban and rural users in Malaysia. Just as Wakefield (2010) has mentioned, a more comprehensive approach has to be taken to address the digital divide. In my opinion, to achieve greater results in narrowing the digital divide in Malaysia, the Malaysian government should improve the quality of the internet service and reduce the costs of maintenance services of digital devices provided to its citizens, especially those living in rural areas.

At an internet speed “almost three times slower than Vietnam” (Chin, 2014), the efficiency of using the Internet in Malaysia is largely reduced. As a result, the benefits of getting connected to the Internet are not optimized. Even though the internet appears to be available in many areas of the country, such dissatisfying speed diminishes the efforts of the government to bridge the rural-urban digital divide as it makes the Malaysian citizens less willing to use the Internet in their daily lives. Therefore, the Malaysian government should improve the quality of the internet service provided to its citizens, especially the rural population. One way to do this is by allocating more funds to the installation of high-speed broadband services throughout the country. A faster internet speed is essential as it not only will benefit those who are already online, but it will also promote the usage of internet among those who are not yet connected.

Furthermore, making low cost maintenance services available in remote communities is yet another action that is of paramount importance in encouraging the usage of internet in rural areas of Malaysia, as the provision of the necessary digital infrastructure to rural population is only the first step of narrowing the digital divide. The Malaysian government should set up maintenance centers in rural areas that provide low cost or even free services to citizens in these areas for maintaining their digital devices, so that the remote communities will not end up with the conclusion that “getting connected” is too costly and sophisticated a matter for them to be involved in. Without consistent services to help the rural population in maintaining and repairing their devices, the purposes of getting them connected will be considerably harder to achieve.

In a nutshell, I agree with the author’s stand that a more holistic effort should be taken so that more people that are currently offline will get connected, for only then will the rural population benefit more from using the internet. Implementing efforts such as ensuring the good quality of the internet and providing rural population with low cost maintenance services is not only important in Malaysia, but also in other countries. With Malaysia as an example, governments that are trying to narrow the widening gap of internet access between rural and urban regions should make their efforts more comprehensive in order to achieve better results in this aspect.

References:

Chin, C. (2014, May 4). Speed slower than Vietnam and Cambodia. The Star Online. Retrieved September 7, 2014, from http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Nation/2014/05/04/Our-Internet-not-so-broadband-after-all-Speed-slower-than-Vietnam-and-Cambodia/

Nur Azrina Azhar. (2012, December 19). Malaysian youth: connected yet cautious. The Asia Foundation. Retrieved September 7, 2014, from http://asiafoundation.org/in-asia/2012/12/19/malaysian-youth-connected-yet-cautious/

Wakefield, J. (2010, March 19). World wakes up to digital divide. BBC News. Retrieved September 7, 2014, from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8568681.stm