Guest Editorial: Digital Divide: Closing the Gap

The promise of ubiquitous connectivity has been a Utopian goal for several decades. And yet, to this day, the digital divide not only persists, but in many cases continues to widen. According to the United Nation's report [1], less than half of the population in underdeveloped areas has access...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:IEEE communications magazine 2021-12, Vol.59 (12), p.14-15
Main Authors: Maljevic, Ivo, Dolecek, Gordana Jovanovic, Mazzarese, David, Casella, Ivan R. S.
Format: Magazinearticle
Language:English
Subjects:
6G mobile communication
Digital divide
Rural areas
Satellite communications
Special issues and sections
Sustainable development
Wind power generation
Wireless networks
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Summary:The promise of ubiquitous connectivity has been a Utopian goal for several decades. And yet, to this day, the digital divide not only persists, but in many cases continues to widen. According to the United Nation's report [1], less than half of the population in underdeveloped areas has access to fourth generation mobile networks. Furthermore, the inequality between urban and rural areas exists even in developed countries [2], [3]. As a result, bridging the digital divide has been identified as a goal for sustainable development by the United Nations [4]. The problem of digital information and communication technologies (ICT) access divide has especially been amplified in the last two years, when COVID-19 forced the majority of the world's workforce to work from home.
ISSN:0163-6804
1558-1896
DOI:10.1109/MCOM.2021.9681621