## 3 Research Problem: Ending the Gap of the Rural Digital Divide  
The described acceleration of the process of digitization of society, together with the possible resurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic or the likelihood of other crisis situations requiring restricting mobility, coincidence in common spaces and physical contact between persons, will require from citizens a universal, intensive, continuous and, even exclusive, use of ICT. At the same time, public authorities are obliged to design policies, make decisions, and implement urgent and quickly effective measures that minimize digital gaps of any kind, including those of territorial origin, especially in the rural areas. If such work is not carried out, there will be an inequality of citizens and territories in their participation in the information and knowledge society.  
[PERSON] et al. [30] suggested that the digital divide research not only covers a variety of ideas about the nature of the problem itself, but also deals with the manner in which it should be resolved, being the most responsible element for doing so. The study on spatial dimensions of this divide and their solution is needed given the increasing importance of broadband for the development of disadvantaged rural communities [31]. As [PERSON] et al. recently concluded [32], the digital divide remains a topic of global research inquiry and a focal concern for policymakers, particularly with regard to rural areas. Therefore, helping to determine which analyses were carried out about rural digital divide and which policies, decisions and measures based on scientific studies have been proposed, with particular attention to those of prompt implementation in view of the current pandemic, has become a research problem of obvious scientific and social relevance.  
The pandemic has given rise to abundant scientific literature, focused, among others, on topics as varied as the availability of infrastructure to generate economic growth and social opportunities without compromising environmental protection [33] or the interconnections between COVID-19, the food system and the circular economy [34]. There are also case studies on The Rural Digital Divide, with empowerment as the theoretical lens and focused on non-European realities [8]. The aim of our research is to provide an overview of the recommendations made by the academic literature in the five-year period 2016-20 to overcome the digital divide in the European rural world by carrying out a scoping review.  
From the selected documents, three research questions will be elucidated:  
* RQ1: In which areas has the academic literature proposed to act to overcome the rural digital divide in Europe?
* RQ2: What recommendations based on social research methods and techniques have been proposed?
* RQ3: Can recommendations of broad and rapid impact, which may be applicable to the current situation, be distinguished?  
The defined temporal scope is agreed to collect only studies carried out after the rapid deployment of 4G mobile phone technology, which after its introduction in major cities during 2012 and 2013 had already reached more than 90% of the territory in most European Union countries by the end of 2016 [35]. The 20 times higher transmission speed of 4G technology than 3G and its lower latency in data transmission, led to the generalization of the smartphone and the conversion of solutions based on the wiring of depopulated territories in technically obsolete and economically inefficient. Focusing on publications that match 4G technology has greater social relevance, as it will allow to put the focus on finding suitable recommendations for the present moment. Likewise, from a perspective of scientific relevance, the scoping review will allow to check if the research on the digital divide in the rural world has evolved towards the study of particular situations proposed by [PERSON] et al. [20].