This news struck me as really sad. Granted, not having Internet certainly pales in comparison to not having clean water or food. Yet, when we hear from the BBC that by 2025 some 40% of the UK will still not have access to the Web - how does one react to this?

If this was a developing country in some far off land, that would be not as big of a surprise. But no, these are brothers and sisters accross the pond. What is the problem? Now before I jump in too deep into this, I ought to mention that it’s likely the US will also have numbers that are far from perfect as well.

Around 23 million Britons will miss out on a wide range of essential services such as education and medical information, predicts the report by telecoms giant BT. It compares to 27 million, or 50%, of the UK, who are not currently online. The idea that the digital divide will evaporate with time is “wishful thinking”, the report concludes.

Mind the gap

The study calls on the government and telecoms industry to come up with new ways to lure those that have been bypassed by the digital revolution. Although the percentage of Britons without home access will have fallen slightly, those that remain digital refuseniks will miss out on more, the report suggests. As more and more everyday tasks move online and offline services become less comprehensive, the divide will become more obvious and more burdensome for those that have not got net access, it predicts.