The usage gap is shaped by limited digital literacy, skills and the ability to engage in basic and advanced digital activities. At a basic level, digital literacy is often linked to broader affordability issues, as well as language barriers and restrictive social norms, particularly those that disadvantage women and marginalized communities in rural areas. Without these foundational capabilities, potential users cannot effectively utilize available digital technologies. skilled labor deficits, which combine to shape the absorptive capacity of the population. adoption, limiting the economic returns from DT investments and hindering the localization and to developing economies. In both developed and developing countries, albeit to varying degrees, disparities persist between urban and rural areas, and between educational and adoption of DTs. Similarly, limited technical capabilities within public institutions impede As mentioned earlier, the affordability gap continues to present a substantial barrier to DT adoption in low- and middle-income countries. The cost of basic connectivity - "first-mile" access - depends in large part on SMC systems. SMCs require investments of several hundred million dollars and are often financed by consortia of telecom operators. In recent years, large technology companies such as Google, Meta and Microsoft have become leading investors. By 2023, such firms accounted for nearly three-quarters of global bandwidth use.34 stimulating competition. The size of these effects depends on the structure of domestic markets and the strength of regulation. Empirical evidence from large samples of low-, middle- and