Increasing Broadband Internet Penetration
In the OIC Member Countries
51
As the data in table 16 suggests, the lower the level of disposable income, the higher the
importance of the affordability barrier becomes. The economic barrier remains a key factor in
limiting broadband adoption. However, it would seem that in developed countries with higher
household incomes, the economic barrier takes second seat to either low digital literacy or
cultural inadequacy.
Digital literacy is the ability to navigate, evaluate, and create information effectively and
critically using a range of digital technologies. Digital literacy encompasses all devices, such as
computer hardware, software, the Internet, and cellphones. Research around digital literacy is
concerned not just with being literate at using a computer, but also with wider aspects
associated with learning how to find, use, summarize, evaluate, create, and communicate
information effectively while using digital technologies. Digital literacy does not replace
traditional forms of literacy; it builds upon the foundation of traditional forms of literacy.
Again, research studies on broadband adoption barriers reveal that digital literacy is a critical
variable explaining non-adoption (see table 17).
Table 17: Percentage of households mentioning digital literacy as a reason for not
purchasing broadband
Country Percentage Year Nicaragua 58 2015
Chile 47 2015
Colombia 46 2015
Brazil 41 2015
Guatemala 38 2015
Mexico 33 2015
South Africa 20 2014
Argentina 19 2015
Switzerland 9 2014
Russia 5 2014
Singapore 4 2014
Source: Compiled by Telecom Advisory ServicesData from table 17 indicates that digital literacy represents an important barrier to broadband
adoption in emerging countries.
Finally, since broadband is a platform used to access Internet content, applications, and
services, the relevance of such content offers an incentive to purchase a subscription.
Conversely, the lack of cultural relevance could serve as a barrier to adoption. Cultural
relevance could be conceptualized either in terms of content suited to the interests of the
adopting population or in terms of language used for interacting with applications/services or
consuming content. As prices for broadband service decline, the cultural relevance factor gains
in importance. In other words, from a policy standpoint, once the economic obstacles are
tackled and affordability becomes less of an explanatory factor of non-adoption, the lack of
relevance or interest variable gains weight. Studies indicate that, while being less important
than affordability and digital literacy, cultural relevance remains a barrier to broadband
adoption (see table 18).