As both government and businesses put more of their interaction with citizens and customers online, having access to the Internet becomes a prerequisite to participate in society on equal ground with others.
I agree with you. It's very important for people to have internet access for the reason you mentioned, and also to have better access to more knowledge (Wikipedia!).
This is an important point. Sometimes we read about people here being banned from using the net (sometimes for things like soliciting minors, but also just because it's regarded as a 'luxury'.)
As well as being very hard to enforce, it's not unlike house arrest. Like others here, I have difficulty functioning without net access. And it's pretty much an economic essential if you want any kind of a decent job.