Passing By, Passing Through and Dropping Out

Abstract

This paper uses a combination of a unique British three wave longitudinal dataset and a similar European two wave dataset to examine the rates of transitions into and out of 'ICT poverty' as defined by having Internet access in the household and/or having a mobile phone. This serves three purposes - it shows that many 'pass by', that 'gaining ICT' access is not a one-way street - many just pass through; and that the rates of dropping out differ for different ICTs and for different groups of people. This has implications for both commercial and public policy strategy. It also shows the value of longitudinal approaches to data collection without which this kind of analysis would be impossible.