But once underserved groups do gain internet access, the impact is huge. A 2003 study by Harvard's Joint Center for Housing Studies said that Internet access projects in low-income communities led to quantifiable improvements in local quality of life, education, and employment.

Internet access helps kids do their homework, get health and nutrition information, and do research about college and career choices, as well as stay in touch with friends, primarily through instant messaging these days. In fact, the lack of IM access to a teen equates to social death; in my house, just about all our, um, discussions have to do with how much IM time is "enough."

Again according to the Pew project, 87% of U.S. teens aged 12 to 17 use the Internet, up from 73% in 2000. By contrast, 66% of adults use the Internet, up from 56% in 2000. "Those teens who remain offline are clearly defined by lower levels of income and limited access to technology," the report says. "They are also disproportionately likely to be African-American."

These types of gaps don't exist only in the U.S., of course. A new survey of the 25-nation European bloc reports a digital divide there, too, with age, income, and education determining whether the continent's citizens use the Internet. And the chasm gets even wider in developing countries.

There are Internet access projects going on both here and around the world, and a new program specifically targets Native Americans.

Despite some of these success stories, it's been painfully slow to get everyone wired up. The way I see it, private companies don't have a financial incentive to put wireless hubs in economically disadvantaged areas, and the volunteer force (and I applaud your efforts) is just too spotty.

So what to do? Those of us who 'have' may need to help those who 'have not.' One suggestion: every time anyone buys a PC, there's a $20 Net access fee. Similarly, anyone signs up for a cell phone or with any cable, telco or VoIP company, there's another $20 fee. (That includes yearly contract extensions.) What's more, the PC vendors and cable/telco/VoIP/wireless providers match the fees, dollar-for-dollar. All the money is put into a pot managed by a nonprofit, with board members from the community-activist, telco/cable, and local/state government arenas. (That should make for some interesting discussions.) The money goes for paying for low-cost broadband and PCs, akin to what San Francisco is doing in its citywide access project, with bids awarded to the lowest-cost providers.

This will not solve the entire problem, of course, but it would take us farther than we are right now.

What do you think? Weigh in below.

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