Chris Williams & Brian Bertino, May 2001
Introduction
The Latin American country of Argentina is populated by 36.6 million people of various cultures most of which descend from European origins. Scattered over 2,780.4 thousand square kilometers, roughly 13 Argentines inhabit each square kilometer with a life expectancy of about 73 years. Though Argentina is considered to be a highly educated and steadily advancing country, the percent of its population below the poverty line is 17.6% as of 1997. The recorded GNP per capita is $7,600 US and the GDP for the country is $281.9 US. The digital divide in Argentina is very much a pressing issue especially among the poorer members of the population.[i]
The basic lack of technology and uneven income distribution in Argentina presents the dominating barrier to a majority of the population's access to the Internet. This directly affects the division between the users and the non-users of the Internet as it is generally the upper 23% of the population that is able to afford Internet access and the lack in improvement of the conditions only reinforces this gap.[ii] High costs of equipment telephone lines, and basic service providers are also a hindrance to reasonably affordable access for such an underprivileged country. Finally, due to the great expense in supplying rural areas with the means to establish an Internet connection, these regions are simply lacking the opportunity completely. As a result of these factors, there is much delay in any widespread growth of the Internet over the country as a whole.
The Digital Divide in Argentina
The comparison of Argentina to other Latin American countries: (per 1,000
people)[iii]
These numbers reflect Argentina's standing as upper strata in the areas
of communications as whole when compared to other Latin American
countries. However, these numbers are still very much lacking in respect
to the rapid growth and accessibility of the Internet in various other
areas around the world. The gap between the users and non-users is also
an important issue to consider when analyzing the digital divide. It is
reported that the average Internet user in Argentina is a 29-year-old
male who is a college graduate with at least five years of computer
experience and also has advanced or mid-level knowledge of information
and commuter technology.[iv] This is a highly
selective group and a very low percentage of the Argentine population.
Telecommunication Infrastructure
Another serious hindrance to Internet availability is the unreasonable expense incurred on those attempting to gain access. The costs of local calls as well as those of leased lines have failed to deflate even after years of service and most Argentines simply are unable to consider such a service. A survey performed as late as 1999 revealed that people still found the Internet to be too expensive to justify. Thus, an access code number, 0616, was created as an attempt at solving the problem.[v] By using this number, to access the local ISP, the user is guaranteed special pricing rates that are intended to make the Internet more affordable. Despite many of these adjustments and attempts at planning for a more affordable Internet, there is still a sizable division between the reality of the situation and the idealistic dreams of government programs. The ideas are good, yet many factors work against them. The lack of funding, extremely high costs, as well as practical application of these plans to many of the rural areas of the country are simply overwhelming.
Economic Issues
As is common in most Latin American countries, the division between the wealthy, upper class income bracket and the poorer, lower class bracket is a considerable one. This directly illustrated in comments such as this noted report "from August 1988 to August 1999, in Buenos Aires the gap between the rich and poor increased even further the richer 10 percent of the population increased its income by 4.9% while the remaining 90% of the population lost some 10% t of its purchasing power As in previous years, the lowest income groups were the ones more negatively affected by the changes."[vi] The population below the poverty line represents almost one-fifth of Argentina's population at 17.6%.
Argentina is a fairly industrialized country. When assessing the various levels of Argentina's economy the numbers are as follows: Agriculture 6%, Industry 32%, Manufacturing 22%, and Services 61%. This details a decline in the presence of the percentages of the economy funneling into industry from a 1990 survey. The overall wealth of Argentina is depicted in the Gross National Product with was $277.9 billion US in 1999, which, though it has increased since the 1995 survey, it is a drop from the 1998 GDP. A positive reflection is the fact that direct foreign investment has shown a significant increase since 1990 as well as the fact that official developmental assistance per capita is down to $2 US in 1998 from $5 US in 1990.
Social Issues
According to the World Bank Poverty Report website, public expenditures on education in Argentina is only 3.5% of the GNP, which is up from 2.7% in 1980.[vii] However, this is only a .8% increase over 17 years. The literacy statistics of both youths and adults in Argentina is higher than most other Latin American countries, so as a whole, it is represented as fairly adequate educationally. The population divides throughout the regions of Argentina unevenly with 90% of the population living in urban areas as of 1999. An accurate depiction of the split between the rich and the poor rests in the statement, "According to recent studies of the sector, in the high income segment of Argentine society Internet access is expected to grow from the current 23% to some 53% in 2003 but in the low-income segments Internet penetration-which stood at zero in 1998-was expected to reach no more than 4% in 2003."
Conclusion
Over the past ten years Argentina has made great strides towards integrating the Internet into its society. With its governmental sponsored programs reaching out to the poor classes and privatized businesses lowering prices for the general public the country may someday reach its goal of incorporating the Internet into the Argentina national landscape. But for now the main barriers remain to oppose these plans. The country lacks the financial and technical means of reaching all its inhabitants and as the divide between the country's wealthy and poor classes widen it will become more difficult to reach the majority of the country that falls into lowest economic bracket.
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[i]
http://www.worldbank.org/poverty/wdrpoverty/report/index.htm
[ii] Petrazzini, B., Guerrero, A.(2000). Promoting
Internet Development: The case of Argentina, a case study Katz,R.,Booz,
A.,Hamilton (1999) Las tendncies tecnologicas y competitivas en la
industriasde las telecomunicaciones e informatica: Implicancia para la
Argentina. Paper presented at ExpoComm.
[iii] http://www.worldbank.org/poverty/wdrpoverty/report/index.htm
[iv] Petrazzini, op.cit.
[v] Petrazzini, op.cit.
[vi] Petrazzini, op.cit.
[vii] Petrazzini, op.cit.