Online, offline, but still falling behind: challenges for Internet use in the Caribbean

At recent count, although the global population was around 7.1 billion at the end of 2013, only 40%, or 2.8 billion are online (Source: Internet World Stats). Though that figure might seem impressive, thought leaders, such as McKinsey & Company, are concerned that the 60% of the global population that are not online are falling behind considerably. In a report published in August 2014, Offline and falling behind: Barriers to Internet adoption, the firm identified factors that foster and hinder development of an enabling environment for a vibrant Internet ecosystem and Internet adoption.

Of particular note in the report were the four elements McKinsey identified as barriers against Internet adoption:

• No incentive to go online. For offline populations there might appear to be no compelling reason to go online, which could be due to, among other things, a lack of awareness of the value of the Internet; lack of relevant content and services, and a lack of cultural or social acceptance.
• Low incomes and affordability. Low-income individuals are unlikely to be able to afford Internet access, which in turn hinders their ability to join the online population.
• Limited user capability. This factor speaks to the offline population possessing limited “digital literacy”, i.e. limited ease and comfort with technology, but also includes general literacy challenges, i.e. limited ability to read and write, which also affect the incentive to go online.
• Poor infrastructure. Generally, telecoms firms tend to focus their network deployment – for mobile/cellular broadband and fixed Internet broadband services, for example – in urban and well-populated areas. In rural or otherwise underserved parts of a country, Internet access can be poor, unstable or even non-existent.

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