摘要：The digital divide—or inequalities in access to Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs)—is a familiar concept. Indeed, the earliest ITU statistics on telecommunications (published in 1871 recording data on telegraph operations since 1849) show a clear divide between the Member States of the Union, mainly within Western Europe at that time. Such gaps have narrowed and, in some cases, even reversed over time, but other disparities have arisen. This suggests that: ⇒ The digital divide is a dynamic concept, which evolves over time; ⇒ Older technologies tend to be more evenly diffused than newer ones; ⇒ There is not a single divide, but multiple divides: for instance, within countries, between men and women, between the young and the elderly, etc. ⇒ The main factor causing these divides is differences in wealth, between countries and within countries (between individuals). African economies, especially Least Developed Countries in sub-Saharan Africa, have historically been among the lowest-ranked economies worldwide in terms of penetration of ICTs, and therefore, on the wrong side of the digital divide.
