The Macbride Commission report, Many Voices One World discusses systems of communication and their effectiveness. Networks of communication affect societal functions in terms of information, socialization, motivation and achieving collective aims, debate and discussion, education and the transmission of knowledge, cultural promotion, entertainment and integration of all persons groups and nations, facilitating mutual understanding. When there are divides in access to such systems of communication unequal development persists. In today’s world, communication has often become an exchange between unequal partners, allowing the predominance of the more powerful, the richer and the better equipped.

An estimated 1.2 billion people – 17% of the global population – did not have access to electricity in 2013, which is 84 million fewer than in the previous year. Many more suffer from a supply of electricity  that is inconsistent and of inferior quality. More than 95% of those living without electricity are in countries in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia, and they are predominantly in rural areas. Progress in providing electrification in urban areas has outpaced that in rural areas two to one since 2000. Broadband Internet continues to fail to reach billions of people living in the global south, according to a new United Nations report that offers country-by-country data on the state of access around the globe. The State of Broadband, produced by the UN Broadband Commission reveals that 57 per cent of the world’s people remain offline.

What is alarming is the impact of such divides, which is not limited to a country’s economic development. In many ways the social impact of not having access to digital forms of communication can be seen to have just as lasting and devastating effects on a society. The fact that media presence is so heavily concentrated in the global north, and that populations of developing countries have little opportunity to shape their own narrative on the global stage or highlight key issues facing their countries being overlooked by mainstream media. Their lack of access prevents the diffusion of knowledge and unique contributions that these countries citizens have to offer, that could help to inform not only global development initiatives, but also improve reporting and implementation in countries which can benefit from it most. Frameworks such as the Sustainable Development Goals and the WSIS + 10 Outcome Document recognize the importance of striving to bridge the digital divide, but they are just the start. The digital divide requires solutions for developing countries by  developing countries to ensure equal access for all.

The internet has been playing a vital role throughout the years it’s been active. Technology has given every person, organization, and country the advantage of being able to communicate with an outside audience in the hopes of improving international standards and affairs. This form of universal communication has given people the access to explore beyond their front door. Of course, to be able to explore the digital world, every person needs to have access to a computer and, most importantly, internet connection. Unfortunately, even though many of us automatically believe that the majority of the world has access to both of these things, there are actually a number of people who do not have access to them.

The people that do and do not have access can be categorized into the “haves” and “have nots”. This digital divide has been an ongoing problem for many years and our digital society is one of the main reasons for why this gap has not closed. Technology has been gaining much more importance with the way businesses, governments and personal transactions are made and sent. The same way that there have been a number of social advancements, there have also been social setbacks especially with those people who are the “have nots” within the digital divide. A number of minority groups fall into this category based on education, race and gender, age, and location. This divide is quite large and not many people know about it. The question at hand is where do we go from here knowing all of this information and why is it that we are still battling this digital divide? It is not enough to just have basic access nowadays. The “basic” we all know requires having the latest form of technology, and the latest is at most two years old, so the “have nots” continue to lose their chances of having the opportunity to cross the divide and for the gap to slowly close.

The Missing Link has established that not much has been done in regards to the developing worlds. They are the ones with the biggest problems and they are being skipped over by many. Even though a number of discrepancies have been dealt with, many still continue to arise and there still has not been a way to deal with all of the issues and to stop them from arising. Every country has the right to develop and be able to achieve their full potential. As every nation begins to advance politically, economically and technologically, people will begin to gain the basic access they need to slowly close the digital divide that exists.

In today’s world, success is strongly correlated to Internet access. It is extremely unfortunate, but without technology and an online presence, there is very little anyone can do to get ahead. If everyone is to have access to the same opportunities in life, that automatically requires that everyone have access to a computer and an Internet connection. The importance of technology’s role keeps increasing daily and at incredible speeds. If a country or if individuals cannot keep up, they are left behind in a blink of an eye.

Although it appears at first glance that the majority of the world, or even the majority of the United States, has access to the net, this is not true. There is in fact a fairly large divide between the “haves” and the “have-nots” (Irving). Despite the social advancements that have been made, the groups of society that tend to lack access are still for the most part minority and disadvantaged groups based on age, education, location, race and gender. While not immediately visible in all contexts, this gap or divide is quite large. One of the main obstacles to achieving access is the lack of proper infrastructure to deliver the services. Having access depends on many different factors that have to come together. It is in this area that the link between the SDGs and WSIS is key in ensuring that these physical factors are provided to those parts of the world and groups in society that lack the basic infrastructure to access the various technologies necessary to succeed in today’s world.

As connectivity and penetration increases and access becomes more widespread, the issue then becomes one of how much access do you have? Is it fast? Is it wireless? Basic access is no longer enough (Falling Through the Net #3). In order to be able to achieve even the things that are considered “basic” it requires one to have the latest technology. Therefore, we need to build awareness on why access is important and we need to encourage the build out of broadband networks to all. Unfortunately, even though in recent a year the disparity has shrunken between groups and the access to computers and Internet has grown quickly, another problem exists and that is that the groups that were already connected are now even more connected. Therefore, although the size of the gap may have shrunken, the divide is deeper in a sense and those left behind are even farther behind now.

Beyond this issue of access and connectivity, is the problem of content on the web. Once people have access to the Internet, are they able to access the information they want? Is there a variety published or is all the content controlled by one entity or region of the world? The MacBride Commission Report touches upon this problem. In recent years it has been brought to attention the fact that the global north controls much of the access to images and media production, and that most of the information online is heavily influenced by the more developed countries. This should not be the case. Each country, each group, should have the ability to create and publish images and information about themselves. Information should not be consolidated and created by the hands of few. As we advance and more people gain access, this is another issue we have to tackle to ensure that proper access in ensured.