Cyber Communities in Rural Asia: A Study of Seven Asian Countries

Through an exploratory study, this book focuses on the extent to which the Internet is fast penetrating the semi-urban and rural areas of Asia and the ways in which rural communities are accessing and using the Internet. It examines the infrastructure, use, and impact of the Internet at the grassroots level in seven representative South Asian and Southeast Asian countries: Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, the Philippines, and Sri Lanka. These countries are at various stages of development in their attempts to build epistemic societies, bridge the digital divide, and improve access to services delivered through the Internet for their citizens leading to the gradual development of the cyber communities. The case studies and surveys are supported by secondary data and in-depth interviews. Each chapter, focusing on an individual country, provides an overview of the particular urban and rural Internet infrastructure and Internet policies of the country. The major areas of concern include frequency of access, time spent, and purposes of using the Internet. The problems faced by the citizens, including those of infrastructure, content, and social factors are examined to evaluate how these barriers could be sorted out in the future. The challenges faced by governments in transforming their societies into the epistemic variety and much of the debate and interventions within these countries have been identified and compared, leading to a better understanding of how the Internet can catalyze development in Asia.