Powell, who is the incoming chair of the Federal Communications Commission, recently said that the chasm between the technological haves and have-nots is similar to the chasm between the people who can and can't afford a fine, luxury German automobile. Powell's dismissive comment about the digital divide is nothing new. Powell mentions in the same brief that 51 percent of classrooms are wired. Any room with a working phone jack is Web-ready, but you still need a computer, modem and an Internet service provider.
Access is important.
And the digital divide is greater in the home. Approximately 41 percent of all U.S. homes use the Web but only 19 percent of black homes and 16 percent of Hispanic homes do, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. If information is increasingly coming at us digitally, one wonders if the disparity in access to knowledge will increase. There are people who believe that the digital divide is a phenomenon to be alarmed about. Bob Kerrey, D-Neb., has called for a national mobilization.