View the webinar deck here
Ensuring equitable internet access and usage to the rural population has become a growing concern and a big challenge for Bangladesh. It is imperative for the Bangladesh government to realize the variations in different factors associated with the first and second digital divides in rural Bangladesh. The survey ‘Digital Literacy and Access to Public Services 2019’, conducted by BRAC Institute of Government and Development (BIGD) of BRAC University, collected relevant information from rural Bangladesh on internet access, online skills and internet usage with a view to exploring the extent of differentials in individuals’ internet access and online skills as well as identifying the factors associated with such inequalities for policy implications. The study aimed to reduce the gaps in different dimensions of digital divides and ensuring the e-inclusion within the rural communities in Bangladesh, and in turn, help reduce the rural-urban digital divide in an inclusive manner.
In the 2nd episode of the Webinar Series on “Digital Inclusion” titled “BIGD Digital Inclusion Series: Ep. 2 —Digital Divide in Rural Bangladesh” Dr Muhammad Shahadat Hossain Siddiquee, Senior Research Fellow, BIGD, presented the study findings that discussed the factors contributing to the digital divide in rural Bangladesh.
Muhammad Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan, Senior Advisor, BIGD; Mehnaz Rabbani, Lead, Research for Policy and Governance (RPG), BIGD; Anir Chowdhury, Policy Advisor, Aspire to Innovate (a2i) among others, also spoke at the webinar. Dr Imran Matin, Executive Director, BIGD moderated the webinar.
The survey found that in Bangladesh- only 37 per cent of rural households have internet access, while 13 per cent have the necessary skills to use the internet. Furthermore, it found that 63 per cent of households have no internet access. It identified the factors contributing to the existing disparities in internet access, usage, and online skills among different genders and socio-economic classes or “digital divide” in rural Bangladesh into two levels. The study termed people’s unequal access to internet infrastructure as the first-level digital divide and the differences in their online skills and internet usage patterns as the second-level digital divide.
