The Effect of Poverty on the Use of Technology (Part 1)

From our previous discussion on the possible applications of technology in remote areas in the Philippines, it got me thinking about the possibility of an entirely connected Philippines. By connected, I mean that there is access to the internet in all parts of the Philippines. The internet is a cloud of information that may be accessed only through the use of electronic devices, most commonly, a computer or a laptop and quite recently, a mobile phone.

In this blog, I would like to turn the class discussion last February 20, 2009 on its head and analyze the connection and effect of poverty on technology. This is because the examples raised in class focused on how technology can change areas of poverty to possible sources of revenue for isolated areas of the country.

It is not disputed that a lot of Filipinos, especially in the urban areas, have the devices needed to access the internet. This is not the case in rural and remote areas of the Philippines basically due to the costs involved. In fact, I think much of the cost is on the infrastructure needed to be able to reach these remote areas. This shows us that the only great cost for the realization of a completely online Philippines is the setting-up of such infrastructure. After this is set-up, all the traffic of information could be provided at a minimal cost. Of course, this framework is overly simplified but it is nevertheless true.

If such is the framework, what is preventing investments from reaching the farthest regions of the country?

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Rivera, Jan Michael A.
02-16779