Case Study - Laos

What is the extent of the digital divide in Laos?

What problems have causes the divide?

What is the impact of the divide on Laos?

What solutions have been provided so far?

What do you think the educational, social, economic and cultural impacts of these solutions are?

Laos being quite a succluded country its not suprising that the digital divide there is so large, there are a mere 15,000 computers in a country thats nearly 800 miles in length and has a population of 6,677,534 (July 2008 est.).

The problems that the divide has cause are firstly; the most obvious, the uneven surface, mountains pose a large threat in bridging the divide as it will effect the wireless internet connection and even for accessing electricity. Secondly the extreme weather conditions that they get can interfere with connectivity. Other problems include, unstable governements, high costs in IT, lack of IT among other things in thier native language and a lack of a decent power source.

The impact of the divide in Loas is extreme, this is because the average Loatian wage is to low to afford a simple computer and if it was higher, there would be no where to connect it.

SOlutions that have been provided in recent years include Cantennae's, which are simple a mobile antennae made out of a can and pedal power computers which work even throung monsoon season, technically the pedalling powers a 12v generator which then powers a computer.

Solutions to the digtal divide in educational terms could be using these new fangles computers in schools and a small scale to start with, doing this will boost the training in IT and prepare them for later life, maybe in a More developed country or in a large urban area. The coscial impacts of the solutions is people can use different types of internet access. The cultural imapcts of these solutions are the fact that there innocent folk culture will be pushed towards mass culture from the addition of internet. FInally, the economic impacts of the solutions could be the Gross National Product may increase because transactions over the web will be easier.