While the digital divide does come down to a location ultimately being connected or unconnected, the barriers that keep people from accessing broadband connection extends beyond this single element. 

Nokia Insights recently revealed their stance on bridging the digital divide, which attributes seven “fault lines” reinforcing this disparity. The seven fault lines: geography, income, gender parity, age, ethnicity, physical abilities, and education.  

The insight explains that connectivity isn’t just about economic cohesion, it also encompasses physical and emotional wellbeing.

Through the pandemic, people with access were “able to work, learn, access public information, stream entertainment, and socialize online from the safety of their homes,” while those without it were stripped of access to information, education, and connection during the crisis.

“That is why commercial viability alone can no longer be the gating criterion for broadband rollout,” Nokia stated. According to the insight, these connectivity gaps can often be boiled down to the lack of profitability to building out in less populated areas.

Nokia claims while no lone strategy will “guarantee” everyone connecting, the focal point of change is approaching digital inclusion as a right to equal opportunity across sectors, not an enterprise expanding its benevolent walls.  

Government funding and policy placement will be integral to “incentivize widespread fiber broadband rollouts” and ensure that building out to new communities means reliable, high-speed connection. But in approaching the fault lines, Nokia outlined a few key findings that are underlining and exacerbating the disproportion.

The insight shared United Nations' “Leveraging digital technologies for social inclusion”’ report from 2019 that showed globally averaged, 58% of men are using the internet compared to only 48% of women. Moreover, the gender gap – while only 3% in developed areas – reaches 53% in the least developed countries (LDCs).

Yet responsively, Nokia believes approaching this doesn’t have to disagree with money-minded players operating in the industry. McKinsey Global Institute estimated in a 2015 report that equal economic participation would add $28 trillion in GDP growth to the global economy by 2025.

Alongside gender disparities, exclusionary government policies and lack of linguistic inclusivity further marginalize indigenous communities. Furthermore, the insight finds that physical disability inclusion still needs work to fully leverage technology aids like speech-to-text services and voice-activated intelligent personal assistants.

The insight stresses that inculcating this inclusion needs to begin within educational institutions as well, explaining that the direct correlation between digital skills and years in education impact income levels and further widen digital inequality.

“It’s important that mandatory education develops digital skills and competence, but it is equally important to ensure life-long learning and skills development to adapt to workplace demand,” Nokia wrote. 

“While developing markets can gain socio-economic benefits by ensuring that women and youth are included in the digital economy,” this process needs to address systemic structures in order to be fully successful in closing the divide.  

“Developed markets need to look to the elderly, low income, and indigenous communities and the physically impaired to ensure that no one is left behind,” Nokia stated.