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If this generalised access problem is not addressed the digital gap will percolate
to political cyber-participation, and we will end-up with de facto
disenfranchisement of cyber-citizens. This gap will largely coincide and likely
exacerbate the gap between haves and have-nots, since one of the ways the gap
has been reduced in the 20th century was through political
involvement/mobilisation of the have-nots after universal suffrage took hold.
Having gaps of this sort coincide is a recipe for trouble – especially if they are
superimposed on pre-existing cultural, religious, ethnic, etc. divides. This is far
from idle chatter: in economic terms the internet and the ICTs which reduce the
importance of distance, are already producing ‘star’ economies phenomena,
allowing those in the know, better-placed, and better-equipped and/or marketed
to reap huge rewards.

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