Geography of the Information Society
Résumé
In the early days of network computing, the argument favored by policy makers and their advisors to encourage public investment was based on a simple idea: the avoidance of motorized trips to reduce energy bills. The technology on offer is constantly improving, the supply of contents becoming more responsive to the demands of the population, public organizations are incorporating ICT in a transversal way in their territorial development programs, and users are appropriating the technologies. There are different rates in the emergence of an information society (depending on places and societies). An ICT standardization process has been carried out. ICT are no longer fantasized about, but are considered additional assets for a territory, in the same way as water, gas or electricity. Techniques are changing and requirements in terms of bandwidth or computer power, for example, are still important.