Speed of Catch-up and Digital Divide: Convergence Analysis of Mobile Cellular, Internet, and Fixed Broadband for 44 African Countries

Abstract

This study examines the dynamics of the digital divide between middle- and low-income groups of 44 African countries in the context of three technologies–mobile cellular, Internet, and fixed broadband–from 2000 to 2015. At the macro level, the relative digital divide has been narrowing at the annual rates from 11.3% to 0.72%, while the absolute digital divide has been widening at the annual rates from 31.33% to 17.11%. At the microlevel, convergence analysis indicates that a catch-up process has taken place in both income groups, with the low-income group displaying a faster catch-up speed in all three technologies. Combining the findings from the macro and the microlevel of the analysis revealed a positive relationship between the increasing rates of the absolute digital divide and the annual rate of catch-up by the low-income group. The faster is the increasing rate of the absolute digital divide, the faster the speed of catch-up by the low-income group of countries becomes. Several policy implications from these findings are discussed. © 2020, © 2020 The Author(s). Published with license by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.