Editing Internet access (section)

===Bandwidth divide===

Traditionally the divide has been measured in terms of the existing numbers of subscriptions and digital devices ("have and have-not of subscriptions"). Recent studies have measured the digital divide not in terms of technological devices, but in terms of the existing bandwidth per individual (in&nbsp;kbit/s per capita).<ref name="HilbertBitsDivide">{{cite journal | url=http://escholarship.org/uc/item/2jp4w5rq | doi=10.1016/j.telpol.2016.01.006 | volume=40 | issue=6 | title=The bad news is that the digital access divide is here to stay: Domestically installed bandwidths among 172 countries for 1986–2014 | year=2016 | journal=Telecommunications Policy | pages=567–581 | last1=Hilbert | first1=Martin | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160604191331/http://escholarship.org/uc/item/2jp4w5rq | archive-date=2016-06-04 }}</ref><ref name="HilbertInfoInequality">{{cite journal | doi=10.1002/asi.23020 | volume=65 | issue=4 | title=Technological information inequality as an incessantly moving target: The redistribution of information and communication capacities between 1986 and 2010 | year=2013 | journal=Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology | pages=821–835 | last1=Hilbert | first1=Martin | s2cid=15820273 | url=http://martinhilbert.net/TechInfoInequality.pdf | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161027053254/http://www.martinhilbert.net/TechInfoInequality.pdf | archive-date=2016-10-27 }}</ref> As shown in the Figure on the side, the digital divide in&nbsp;kbit/s is not monotonically decreasing, but re-opens up with each new innovation. For example, "the massive diffusion of narrow-band Internet and mobile phones during the late 1990s" increased digital inequality, as well as "the initial introduction of broadband DSL and cable modems during 2003–2004 increased levels of inequality".<ref name="HilbertInfoInequality"/> This is because a new kind of connectivity is never introduced instantaneously and uniformly to society as a whole at once, but diffuses slowly through social networks. As shown by the Figure, during the mid-2000s, communication capacity was more unequally distributed than during the late 1980s, when only fixed-line phones existed. The most recent increase in digital equality stems from the massive diffusion of the latest digital innovations (i.e. fixed and mobile broadband infrastructures, e.g. [[3G]] and fiber optics [[FTTH]]).<ref>SciDevNet (2014) How mobile phones increased the digital divide; {{cite web |url=http://www.scidev.net/global/data/scidev-net-at-large/how-mobile-phones-increased-the-digital-divide.html |title=How mobile phones increased the digital divide |access-date=2014-03-07 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140307214246/http://www.scidev.net/global/data/scidev-net-at-large/how-mobile-phones-increased-the-digital-divide.html |archive-date=2014-03-07 }}</ref> As shown in the Figure, Internet access in terms of bandwidth is more unequally distributed in 2014 as it was in the mid-1990s.

For example, only 0.4% of the African population has a fixed-broadband subscription. The majority of internet users use it through mobile broadband.<ref name="Denis-2022"/><ref name="Mitchell-2021"/><ref>{{Cite web |title=Africa Connectivity Outlook: 2022 and Beyond |url=https://www.ses.com/blog/africa-connectivity-outlook-2022-and-beyond |access-date=2022-09-01 |website=SES |date=27 June 2022 |language=en |archive-date=2022-08-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220812063556/https://www.ses.com/blog/africa-connectivity-outlook-2022-and-beyond |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Why aren't more people using mobile internet in West Africa? |url=https://blogs.worldbank.org/digital-development/why-arent-more-people-using-mobile-internet-west-africa |access-date=2022-09-01 |website=blogs.worldbank.org |date=8 December 2021 |language=en |archive-date=2022-07-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220723090826/https://blogs.worldbank.org/digital-development/why-arent-more-people-using-mobile-internet-west-africa |url-status=live }}</ref>