Introduction
For the scope of this paper ‘Analogue divide’ is defined as the non-ICT based socio-economic gap that exist between the have and the have-nots in the society. This is not a standard term, but used for illustrative purposes. The difference between the info-rich and info-poor, in terms of their abilities to access the information and communication facilities, is often referred to as the ‘Digital divide’.

Analogue divide
As far as bridging the ‘Analogue’ divide is concerned Sri Lanka has always been a success story. Its achievements in the socio-economic arena, especially in the fields of education and health are remarkable for a developing country and a third world nation. The following statistics further illustrate the developments Sri Lanka has made on the socio-economic front.

In spite of its per capita GDP of US$ 947, Sri Lanka is far more with developed countries rather than developing countries. This is largely attributed to the welfare schemes carried out by the successive governments in the post independence era.

Digital divide
Internet age in Sri Lanka officially began on April 26, 1995, and it was the first South Asian nation to open its doors to commercial and unrestricted Internet access. (Computers Today, 1995)

However, apart from few sporadic and isolated examples like Kothmale Internet – Community Radio, Sarvodaya multipurpose telecentre and Vishva Grama Kendras (VGKs), there were only few serious attempts to introduce the benefits of Internet in the rural communities. So, the rural sector of Sri Lanka still remains cut-off from the web. The villagers do not perceive how the information availability could make them more productive and demandable. Neither they know how the same can improve their quality of life.

Cost of Internet access to rural communities
The most decisive bottleneck that prevents the rural penetration of Internet is financial. The following cost calculations were made not only to illustrate the high cost of Internet usage in general, but also to show the urban rural disparities. In addition, this estimation also points out the most critical components of the Internet usage.

The Internet usage charges constitute of five main components:

• Cost of hardware equipment and system software
• Internet surfing charges (To be paid to the Internet Service Provider separately)
• Telecommunication charges (To be paid to the telecom service provider)
• Cost of electricity
• Value Added Taxes (VAT) applicable to the above services

Graph (1) shows the cost of Internet usage to an urban user and a rural user respectively for selected periods of monthly usage.

Non-financial reasons preventing rural Internet penetration
In addition to the financial reasons, the following have been identified as the main bottlenecks that prevent rural Internet penetration (Wattegama, 2002):

Lack of computer literacy
Though PCs have been extensively used in Sri Lanka for more than a decade, many in the society still lack the basic skills even to perform a simple task like surfing. This situation has improved over the last few years, but still only the younger sections of the population show satisfactory computer skills.

Table (1) : More selected socio-economic indicators for Sri Lanka

Indicator	Figure
Population living below US$ 1 per day	6.6%
People have access to safe drinking water	70%
Households with electricity	68%
Average area served by a school	6 sq km
Primary net enrolment ratio	97.2%

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