Strategies for expediting internet adoption in Ecuador

Abstract

The Internet has shown to be one of the most significant information technologies to help with the sharing of knowledge and the making of decisions by individuals and groups at every level of society. The continued increase of developing countries joining the arena of Internet adoption is an acknowledgment that not only national technology capacities are enabling international competitiveness , but also that the exploitation of the Internet may become a powerful tool in diminishing the social exclusion which, presently, is considered by many experts one of the major assets in strengthening a countries`` economy. Yet amid all the good news regarding the increased Internet penetration rate in Latin America during past years, only 77% of the population still has not accessed the Internet as of 2007. In the same manner, Ecuador, one of the largest crude oil exporters and most diverse countries in relation to its size, is placed 12th among 20 Latin American sampled countries with regards to Internet penetration. Thus, in order to further the quality of life and make an effective and responsive government serving all citizens, it is necessary to analyze an effective way to increase the Internet penetration in Ecuador and, apply these findings for consideration by other developing countries. The scarcity of Internet adoption for Ecuador is a regional issue as shown by its placement of 12th of the 20 Latin American countries in 2007. Ecuador has made efforts towards Internet adoption since late 2000 when CONATEL established Internet access as a national priority for the country``s economic, social and cultural development. Nevertheless the current status shows that Internet access is still scarce and limited with a corresponding profound digital divide. This divide is obvious given that nearly 80% of Internet users are located in the Ecuador``s three major cities: Quito, Guayaquil and Cuenca. The objectives of this thesis are: First to explore some macro factors ...