電信自由化建制與數位落差的政治經濟分析

The Global Telecom Regime and the Digital Divide

自從個人電腦開始普遍應用在人類生活當中開始，知識的應用擴大了人際溝通的範圍、改變了生產模式和產業結構，同時加速了全球化的腳步，使得相互依賴的國際關係，在資訊時代獲得更大的體現。資訊與通訊技術（information communication technology,ICT）革命雖然提供了開發中國家跨躍成長的契機，卻加劇了南北數位化發展的落差。在資訊時代南北衝突的形態不再是以國家之間的集團對抗方式呈現，取而代之的是兩種發展趨勢，一方面是數位化發展的弱勢族群同時出現在已開發和開發中國家，並快速凝聚共識共同面對全球化所帶來的負面影響。另一個發展趨勢則是透過全球化多邊機制與民間部門合作，共同解決在ICT革命過程中，因先天不足所形成的「數位落差」（digital divide）問題。本文透過電信自由化建制說明電信發展的自由市場效率化層面，同時從數位落差問題檢視南北不均衡發展的趨勢。最後再從全球管治（global governance）的角度探討數位落差的解決方案。

Information communication technology has transformed the way of communication for personal contacts, business transactions, and transnational interactions. Higher speeds and a wider scope of communications has strengthened the power of globalization and divided the world into digital-haves and have-nots; It takes global governance to manage the emerging digital divide issue. The main theme of this paper is to draw a picture of global governance in the telecommunications regime and combine the issues of telecom liberalization and the digital divide in the emerging global information society. Nowadays, the digital divide has become a global issue which exists in the developed, developing, and underdeveloped areas. The paper argues that, governments from both the North and South are needed to coordinate the public and private sectors and work out a global governance mechanism for the benefit of all mankid.