THE “OTHER” DIGITAL DIVIDE Presented by Beverley Mahony Industry Canada OECD Digital Divide Workshop December 7, 2000

Source: Statistics Canada, Employment Dynamics (1998) SMEs Play a Major Role in the Economy 1

Excellent Growth in SME Internet Use 2

Source: Statistics Canada, Information and Communications Technologies and Electronic Commerce Survey, August Canadian Businesses at E-Readiness Stage Overall Internet connectivity is good but early days for e-commerce 3

Government Business Trade Why Is It Important To Be On-line? Transforming all areas of life Education 4

E-Com Radically Changes Traditional Supply Chain CustomerDistribution Marketing Manufacturing Suppliers Customer DistributionMarketing Manufacturing Suppliers SMEs Need to Keep Pace to Survive 5

“Other” Kinds of Digital Divides:  Location Gap: Being left behind because of where located, e.g. small towns and rural areas  Speed gap: Between large businesses with high- speed access versus small and medium-sized firms with low speed access  Timing Gap: Individuals and businesses in rural and remote communities will be disadvantaged with expensive access, late access or no access Evolving Concepts of Digital Divide “The high-speed, broadband networks of the 21 st century are essential to attracting and retaining businesses, providing state-of-the-art healthcare, and offering children the benefits of distance learning and the Internet.” Center for the New West, September

 Businesses  Gap growing between large businesses (on high-speed on-ramps) and small and mid-sized firms (on electronic dirt roads), particularly in small towns & rural areas  Public Institutions  High-speed critical to providing ALL government services online: telehealth, e-learning, electronic government transactions, etc.  Households  As volume increases, speed decreases using current legacy infrastructure  Utility of digital platform for commercial, social, civic and learning activities will be greatly impaired or eliminated Canada Established National Broadband Task Force Limited Bandwidth = Lost Opportunities 7

 Supportive policy & regulatory framework  Raising awareness /education on benefits  Leading by example / model user  Stimulating development of ICT and advanced applications  Mobilizing resources, in partnership with private sector, where required to address market failure  Benchmarking domestic performance and sharing best practices Government Roles in Fostering Access & Use 8

1.Accelerate adoption and use among SMEs 2.New Business Models 3.High-Speed Broadband Access Issues /Challenges Ahead 9