The sudden transition to virtual classrooms wasn't easy. Almost a year since we started online learning, most of us have gotten the hang of it while others continue to struggle. Over one in three students couldn't access online learning during the first Movement Control Order (MCO) last year.
The stories of youths climbing up trees for better Internet and six siblings sharing one smartphone is the sad reality about Malaysia's telecommunication infrastructure. Such major shortcoming has led to a digital divide, affecting those living in the rural areas as well as the poor.
A digital divide refers to the uneven distribution of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in society.
Steps have been taken to resolve such issue through a planned fund allocation in Budget 2021 to provide free laptops to 150,000 students and individuals such as former Youth Minister Syed Saddiq and celebrity preacher-philanthropist Ustaz Ebit Lew who have taken the initiative to offer free laptops and tablets to students in need.
But Veveonah Mosibin's viral Youtube video reminds us of the bigger picture: unequal distribution of Internet access because without Internet, all devices become useless.
How Bad Is It?
Veveonah wasn't exagerrating about the poor Internet connectivity in her area. Here are some research with proof:
31% of people from rural Sarawak and Sabah had to leave home in search for stable Internet access while 14.6% had no Internet access at all.
A study by Opensignal also found that users who experienced the lowest 4G availability are from districts with the lowest population density — a defining characteristic of rural areas. In fact, they only connect to 4G just 44 percent of the time.
But Why?
In a cover story by The Edge, the government specifies that the operator must provide connectivity to 95 percent of the population, not 95 percent of geographical area. With more than 70 percent of the Malaysian population living in urban areas, it's easy for telecommunication operators to leave out rural areas.
Affordability is also an issue. It's important to understand that Internet connection can either be fixed or mobile:
Mobile broadband plans are priced according to how much data is allocated over a fixed period.
Fixed broadband plans are priced according to the speed at which data is transfered.
Fixed broadband has better connectivity, but people would rather purchase mobile data because it is extremely affordable. It is also the question of whether the price is relative to income.
Khazanah Research Institute reported that there is a significant positive relationship between fixed broadband subscription rates and median household income.
True enough: In the DoSM 2019 report, Sabah and Kelantan are states with the lowest median household income — RM 4,235 and RM 4,325 respectively, which is far from the national median of RM7,901. Both states also have the lowest fixed broadband penetration rate (3.1% and 2.5% respectively, as stated in the MCMC's Facts and Figures for 4Q 2019).
What Say Me?
In Mass Communication, we learn about the concept of a Global Village where everyone is connected regardless of physical distances, thanks to the Internet. While I am all for it, I think we may have overestimated digitalisation's transformative aspect. The class divide between the Have and Have-Nots is further reinforced and accentuated because of the Digital Divide that isn't only a regional matter. It stems from the socio-economical disparity from a long time coming. As long as we don't find solutions for that, bridging this digital divide will not be simple.
Comments