Mobile Technology bridges the Digital Divide: Case of Kosovo

• Author: Fakije Zejnullahu - Indrit Baholli
• Position: Ministry of Public Administration ?Republic of Kosovo - European University of Tirana
• Pages: 50-56

Vol. 1 No. 1

January 2017

European Journal of Economics, Law and Social Sciences

IIPCCL Publishing, Graz-Austria

ISSN 2519-1284

Acces online at www.iipccl.org

50

Mobile Technology bridges the Digital Divide: Case of Kosovo

Fak e Zejnullahu

Ministry of Public Administration –Republic of Kosovo

Indrit Baholli

European University of Tirana

Abstract

The digital divide is a global problem with which the population is able to access and use

the information and communication technology, when the access is somehow available. This

“divide”, in terms of access to ICT, can be found among developed and developing countries,

within a country among rural and urban areas, rich and poor, educated and non-educated and

white and non-white.

The Republic of Kosovo is also a ected by this phenomenon and harmful e ects of the digital

divide due to the very low level of territorial coverage with fi xed telephony and internet

services. In developing countries, mobile technologies are seen as a possibility for overcoming

the digital divide by delivering services in those areas where the infrastructure required for

internet or wire telephony services is not a viable option.

This study analyzes the mobile opportunities in the Republic of Kosovo. Findings show that

the penetration of mobile telephony and mobile internet is satisfactory and comparable to the

developed countries.

Increasing penetration of mobile broadband as opposed to fi xed broadband in the Republic

of Kosovo will be an incentive for the Government to take a new direction towards mobile

government services accessible through mobile devices, thus enabling a fast and ubiquitous

Government.

Keywords: Mobile Technology, Digital Divide, ICT, mobile Government.

Introduction

Although the revolution in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) had

inspired optimistic expectations and fantasies for: a transparent government, universal

approach to information, rationality of markets, creation of new international

community, availability of life and health-enhancing information to ordinary people

throughout the world, many people from many countries of the world remained

una ected by this revolution. This phenomenon known as the "digital divide" was

popularized in 1999 when Surveys revealed massive di erences between access to

ICT in countries with developed economies (like the United States and Australia)

, the di erence between rich and poor, educated and non-educated and white and

non-white (Keniston, 2003, 2-3).

Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) defi nes “the

digital divide” as the gap between di erent individuals, households, businesses

and geographical areas at di erent social-economic levels with regard to their

opportunities to access ICTs and to their use of the Internet (OECD, 2001, 5).