It is not as though nothing is being done to overcome these physical barriers. There are many efforts currently in progress to solve the access issue by providing technology to schools and homes, increasing broadband connectivity, and providing public access centers. However, many of these solutions depend on the specific problem for a particular region or demographic group. For instance, in the region of Kerala, India, there are a surprising number of schools with access to computers and the Internet. During school hours, the students learn how to use the computers and the Internet effectively. After school hours, however, the schools double as Internet cafes for public use. Mayer-Schoenberger notes, “That's an intriguing way of offering connectivity embedded in the local institutions and structures” (interview). For all of these methods, however, it is essential that there is at least a rudimentary backbone structure of connectivity.

Gerry Smith of River Oaks Elementary School in Oakville, Canada developed a very effective means of creating a structural backbone of connectivity and physical access for the students at his school. By partnering with various telecommunications companies—Microsoft, Apple, Perceptrix, and Sony, to name a few—Smith has acquired $500,000 worth of physical resources, including computers, scanners, CD-ROM players, and desktop publishing and video equipment. Despite the fact that River Oaks did not have any more funds than any other school in the area, Smith was able to obtain such comparatively incredible resources for his own school by using creative thinking and novel business tactics. He created deals with these major companies, for instance, arranging to buy, at discounted prices, equipment with slightly damaged exteriors that could not be sold for full retail prices through usual distribution chains, though the mechanics worked perfectly (Tapscott 208). Solutions like this, which involve partnerships that are beneficial to both parties, require ingenuity. The access issue is not unsolvable; it simply requires a different sort of thinking.