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Bridging broadband Internet divides: reconfiguring access to enhance communicative power

  • Debates and Perspectives
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Journal of Information Technology

Abstract

Government and industry initiatives to stimulate the diffusion of high-performance broadband telecommunications links have given a fresh impetus to debates over the social and economic implications of the growing use of the Internet and other information and communication technologies (ICTs). This paper analyses how outcomes tied to ICT innovation are shaped by choices about whether and how to use, or not use, the technology to reconfigure access to people, services, information and technologies in ways that significantly change the communicative power of individuals, communities, organisations, nations and regions. It explains why these outcomes are not predetermined by the technology, but unfold over time through the complex interplay among many actors, in many arenas. A framework is presented to assist in addressing the issue of digital divides and other areas of research, policy and practice affected by the design and use of broadband Internet and related ICTs.

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Notes

  1. This paper draws on Dutton et al. (2003a), a discussion paper based on the Broadband Divides Forum convened in March 2003 by the Oxford Internet Institute, in collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Syracuse and Tufts Universities. The authors are indebted to the Forum's participants, whose wide range of knowledge and practical expertise in business, industry, government, public agencies and research form the core of the ideas in the paper. However, they apologise for not having the space here to acknowledge individual contributions (for more detailed reports on the Forum's discussions and background material see Dutton et al., 2003a, 2003b).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK

    William H Dutton

  2. MIT Program on Internet & Telecoms Convergence, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA

    Sharon Eisner Gillett

  3. Convergence Center, School of Information Studies, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York, USA

    Lee W McKnight

  4. Oxford Internet Institute, Oxford, UK

    Malcolm Peltu

Authors
  1. William H Dutton
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  2. Sharon Eisner Gillett
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  3. Lee W McKnight
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  4. Malcolm Peltu
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Correspondence to William H Dutton.

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Dutton, W., Gillett, S., McKnight, L. et al. Bridging broadband Internet divides: reconfiguring access to enhance communicative power. J Inf Technol 19, 28–38 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.jit.2000007

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