Singapore is often described as the high wired society, the
penetration of mobile telephony, PCs and the Internet is extremely high in
Singapore. It has one of the highest mobile penetration rates in the world at
76 per cent (Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore, 2003). Yet, there
still exist a ‘digital divide’ between the low income group and the rest of the
society, specifically students, because this ‘digital divide’ has not been
addressed comprehensively to fully bridge the gap between the low income group
and the rest of the society. This will leave the low-income group in the
vicious cycle of poverty and isolation. Therefore, this essay will
pinpoint the reasons for and problems of ‘digital divide’, evaluate previous
IDA’s efforts made to address this ‘digital divide’ and propose building
computer hubs under HDBs which I believe would be more successful in bridging
the gap between the low income groups and the rest of the society in Singapore.
The root causes of this isolationism are their inability to
afford computers and broadband and the lack of knowledge towards the usage and
the importance of technology. The inability of the low income to stay connected
has a significant impact on their studies as many schools have become more
active to engage in online learning. Furthermore, students are more and more
dependent on online research for study purpose and hence this would put
low-income students as a disadvantage. In other words, lacking behind the rest
of the society in the technological could result in not just a digital divide
but social divide. Therefore, it is important to
bridge the gap between the students of low income group and the rest of the
society in Singapore so that they could be saved from the vicious cycle of
poverty.
Many attempts by
IDA have been made to bridge this ‘digital
divide’ by making technology more affordable for the low income group. For
example, IDA's NEU PC Plus programme offers students from low income families
the opportunity to own a new computer at a discount of up to 75 per cent.
Adding on to that, IDA also has a broadband-only scheme for students who
already own computers but cannot afford broadband subscriptions. They
pay only $1.50 monthly for 36 months for a fixed-line or mobile broadband
subscription. (Tham, 2014) However, the subsidy can be only be given to
customers of specific telecommunication brand such as SingTel and M1.
Furthermore, the connection rate provided in the broadband subscription is not
adequate for multitasking and may even have
difficulty entering a school's secure portal to download assignments (Tham,
2014). Even though this attempt did address the root cause of the lower income
group’s inability to afford technology, the services provided by this subsidy
was definitely not enough to bridge this ‘digital divide’. The low income group
are still at a lower level than the rest of the society in the world of
technology. In order to successfully bridge the gap, efforts made should
efficiently help the low income groups to be on the same level as the rest of
the society so that they can escape the vicious cycle of poverty.
With that,
a comprehensive solution to this persistent problem could be to build a
computer hub under HDB districts so as help the isolated low income groups
students integrate to a well-connected society. Similar to the implementation
of building a mini lounge with a shared television and benches for the
elderlies under HDB flats, it is feasible for IDA to build an exclusive
computer hub for the lower-income groups. The hub would consists
of computers, printers and a beginner’s guide book on the basic and
fundamental functions such as Microsoft Word and E-mail. Unlike other IT
courses introduced in Community Centres, the access to these computer hubs
should be made free. The exclusiveness could be maintained through creating an
exclusive access pass for the lower-income group to enter the room, so the
middle and high income group will not make use of their privilege.
In essence, the low income groups are
isolated and stuck in the vicious cycle of poverty due to the inability to
afford and understand technology. In order to effectively bridge this gap
between the low income group and the rest pf the society in Singapore, the low
income group must be at the same page of progression in the world of
technology. Thus only by making exclusive privilege for the low income group,
they will be included in the society.
References
Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (2003).
Decision Paper: Charging for Mobile Phone Services: Mobile-Party-Pays
("MPP") vs Calling-Party-Pays ("CPP"). Singapore,
Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore. 2003: 5.
Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (2014) 2013:
Putting Singapore tech on the world stage. (2014, January 3). Infocomm
News from Singapore. Retrieved September 30, 2014, from http://www.ida.gov.sg/blog/insg/featured/2013-putting-singapore-tech-on-the-world-stage/
Tham, I. (2014, March 14). Bridging the digital
divide. Asia One Singapore. Retrieved September 30, 2014, from
http://news.asiaone.com/news/singapore/bridging-digital-divide
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