36 I ICT TODAY
Smart Cities and Edge Data Centers
Can Bridge the Digital Divide
Today, the idea of computing and communication seems to be more of a necessity and right than a privilege.
People fully expect smartphones and devices to connect and work like landlines or power, water, and other utilities.
However, the demand for transmissions for communications has increased not only for applications, but also for
a vast array of newer technologies for both rural and urban areas. "Slow is the new down." Most people have become
demandants of instant communications. Internet service that may stop abruptly for minutes seem like hours, and
hours seem like an eternity. Inconvenienced for a time by the lack of instant communication, subscribers' internet
services and devices resume, and life and work continue.
Now imagine a farmer whose farm is among the 25 percent in the United States that have absolutely
no internet access at all or is among the 62 percent with very poor intermittent internet performance.
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Imagine
the millions of financially struggling households that cannot afford internet services and devices for themselves
and their school-aged children. These scenarios help to define the digital divide, the gap between those people
and enterprise business owners who have access to telecommunications and information technologies and
those who do not.
By Carrie Goetz, RCDD, NTS, PSP, CNID, CDCP, CSM-Agile, AWS CCP
