Not Necessarily News January 2001

Posted: 01/2001

Overheard …

… at ASCENT’s Fall 2000 Conference and Exhibition in Anaheim, Calif. …

"When
there is a breakup, there is an opportunity … competition is good for everyone
but the monopolists. …"

–Bob Annunziata, PF.Net Communications Inc. board chairman and winner of
the ASCENT/PHONE+ Telecommunications Competition Award

The Diminishing Digital Divide

According to the U.S. Department of Commerce’s (www.doc.gov)
study, "Falling Through the Net," significant increases in nationwide
digital inclusion have been measured during the past 20 months. As of August
2000, 116.5 million Americans were online. That is up from the 84.6 million in
December 1998.

More than half of all U.S. households have computers, and more than half of
those had Internet access as of August 2000.

The percentage of Americans using the Internet grew from 32.7 in 1998 to 44.4
in August 2000. The Commerce Department notes that if growth continues in this
fashion, more than half of all Americans will be using the Internet by this
year.

Education is also a factor for division. The largest difference in Internet
usage remains between Americans with post-graduate degrees and Americans who
have not finished high school.

Internet Penetration in Western Europe

According to NetValue (www.netvalue.com),
half of Denmark’s households are online. Spain has the same number of wired
households as Denmark, but that number represents only 12.7 percent of all
Spanish households.

Due to a low percentage of online households, 46.2 percent of which have been
online for less than one year, NetValue categorizes Spain as an "emerging
Internet market." Likewise, the gender breakdown of each country studied
shows the lowest percentage of female users (35.4 percent) is in Spain.

Illustration: Alternate Channel