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Access in El Salvador

Byrne Rock & Teresa Valdez, May 2001



Introduction

El Salvador is the smallest of the seven Central American countries. It is also a country that has been riddled with social and political turmoil, and almost continuous warfare, still recovering from its recent civil war in which about 70,000 Salvadorans were killed. The conflicts have understandably had lasting effects on the people and economic situation of the country. Military dictatorship, violent coups and poverty have all taken their toll on the Central American nation, and it is now largely dependent on the U.S. and other foreign countries for assistance. Natural disasters are also common. Several years ago, El Salvador and other Central American nations were hit by hurricane Mitch, and in January of 2001, an earthquake shook the area and left thousands of Salvadorans homeless. Salvadorans are 89% mestizo, 10 % native Indian, and 1% white European. Most Salvadorans speak Spanish, but in a few rural places, native languages are still spoken, although it is becoming rarer and rarer. About the size of the state of Massachusetts with a population of about 6 million people (about 20% of which live in the U.S.) other issues may come first in the public consciousness than the Digital Divide.


The Digital Divide in El Salvador

In a country of about six million people, almost half live below the poverty line. According to a NUA survey in April of 2000, only about 40,000 Salvadorans were online, a scant .65% of the total population. Not even some of the richest one percent of the population can say they are online. Many of the people that are online are a part of the higher educational system, with a great number of people getting connected at the university level. This is typical of many countries, but El Salvador is slowly entering global society.


Telecommunication Infrastructure

El Salvador's telecommunications infrastructure is a developing one. During the country's civil war, leftist Guerillas waged war on the right-wing El Salvadoran government. Often telecommunications targets were attacked in order to weaken the overwhelming strength of the governmental militias. The rebuilding of telecommunication infrastructure, a necessity for access to the Internet, has characterized the years following the war. As is to be expected from a developing nation-state, this rebuilding has been slow but steady. Limiting factors greatly affect the speed at which El Salvador's Internet can grow. Among these are a low number of mobile phones and personal computers. Although El Salvador has 464 radios and 675 television sets (per 1,000 people), it only has 18 mobile phones (per 1,000 people) and a number of personal computers too small to be accounted for according to the World Bank's World Development Report 2000/2001. The lack of personal computers puts El Salvador at an enormous disadvantage with relation to the digital divide. The El Salvadoran Government hopes that privatization of communication technology will increase the speed of development. In 1998 the country's only telephony company, ANTEL, was split into a wireless and a wired component. France Telecom purchased 51% of the wired shares for $272 million, while 51% of the wireless component was purchased for $41 million by Telefónica de España. This placed the telecommunication destiny of the nation in the hands of foreign investors and businesses. "As of January 1997 there were 350,000 telephone lines in El Salvador with 70 per cent of all lines in the capital San Salvador. That amounts to less than six lines per 100 people in the country as a whole with a waiting list of 300,000." (Telecommunications) The urban concentration of El Salvador's telephony is also a weak link in the Internet chain. Without telephone lines that run to non-urban geographic areas, a comprehensive network cannot be attained. According to Guanacos Online!, an El Salvadoran Internet related website, the country has at least 19 ISPs including CTE/Antel.net, Citicom, EuroMaya, Netcom, Telemóvil, and Internet de El Salvador. Guanacos Online! also lists 10 domestic chat websites as well as three different Cyber Cafe companies operating within the country's borders. The additional fact that ANTEL concluded a deal with Amzak International in February 2000 to provide cable telephone services offers more hope for El Salvador's developing telecommunication industry.


Economic Issues

El Salvador's level of economic development is another major barrier to access to the Internet. The country's GNP for 1999 was $11.8 billion making per capita wealth $1,900. According to a Lexis-Nexis Document, "More than 20 percent of the population lives in extreme poverty. Population density is high with around 280 inhabitants per square km. It is particularly high in the capital, San Salvador, where population density is more than twice the national average." This fact undoubtedly plays a significant role in determining who is able to afford a personal computer. A 2000 estimate for El Salvador's population is 6.3 million people. Hong Kong has a population of 7 million and a 1999 GNP of $161.7 billion. This demonstrates the economic disparities between two nations of similar population. The highest 20% of the country's population accrues 56.5% of the national wealth, while the lowest 20% makes only 3.4%. El Salvador's GDP was 10% agriculture, 28% industry, 22% manufacturing, and 61% services in 1999. El Salvador's labor market consists of the production of the agricultural products maize, millet, sugarcane, coffee, beans, rice, cotton, shrimp, beef, and dairy products. Industrial products include processed food, beverages, fuel, cement, textiles, cigarettes, petroleum products, and raw sugar. A lack of technological based services and jobs also adversely affects El Salvador's inequity with regard to digital technology. El Salvador accepted $30 per capita in official development assistance in 1999, less than half of the amount accepted in 1990. The nation's foreign domestic investment was $12 million in 1998. As El Salvador's economy improves less outside assistance will be required. For the time being, however, the country's developing economy is a reflection of its struggle to catch up to other countries that are leading the digital changes related to globalization. In order to incorporate more of the population into an El Salvadoran Internet, the economic playing field must be leveled for all citizens.


Social Issues

Education is one of El Salvador's greatest barriers to access. Many Salvadorans simply do not have the education or income required to get online. At least 19% of adult males and 25% of adult females in El Salvador are illiterate, with about 76 % of the total population completing grade 5. Only 36% of schoolchildren enroll in secondary school. About half of the population lives in rural areas, where access to group use computers such as libraries, schools, or Internet booths is even more inhibited. Since the nation is largely agricultural and rural, the massive deforestation and pollution have had a devastating effect on the economy. El Salvador has lost 95% of its forests to farming and other developments and the land is not supporting the people as well as it could. Loss of these natural resources has driven rural areas into even more poverty. 55% of the rural population is living below the poverty level compared to 43 % of the urban population. Low income and little education are factors that will continue to impede the progress of El Salvador in the global electronic world.


Conclusion

In a country like El Salvador, widespread Internet access is still a long time away. The country is grappling with issues like poverty, recovery from civil war, lack of telecommunication infrastructure, and various natural disasters. Slowly but surely, however, they are starting to have more widespread Internet access. It is still limited to the relatively wealthy, but it is increasing. El Salvador is already worlds away from where it used to be. They are starting to have more widespread Internet access. With the growing popularity of Internet booths which offer relatively low priced access, people who would have otherwise not been connected are getting online. It is still limited to the relatively wealthy, but it is increasing. El Salvador is already worlds away from where it used to be.


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