Digital infrastructure strategies: the case of the province of Caserta

Abstract

The digital economy and the associated productivity gains generated by the diffusion of the Internet are considered fundamental components of growth models. Scientific reflection converges in considering balanced access to digital services as a diriment factor for the promotion of competitiveness, equity, economic development and social and environmental sustainability. Although the availability of infrastructure is not sufficient to achieve the full development of the territory and the community, it is nevertheless an unavoidable prerequisite for today's and future technological and digital applications and, therefore, investigating the type of association between the presence of communication networks and the socio-economic structure of the territories is essential to understanding the very nature of multidimensional inequalities and their spatial and geographical distribution, within a framework that sees infrastructure as a conversion factor and means of development for capabilities. Based on the theories of social exclusion, the capability approach and critical theory, the research presented aims to investigate, through the analysis of a case study, the possible association between the state of progress of broadband implementation and specific territorial configurations, considering also different variables of a geographical nature.