Can mobiles close the digital divide? Digital Inclusion By Robin Hicks | 27 April 2010 | Views: 9081 It is often argued that no technology in history has been as effective at fighting poverty as the mobile phone. According to the World Bank, an extra ten mobiles per 100 people in a typical poor country will add 0.8 per cent to GDP growth. The humble handset has given disadvantaged people access to information with which they can build businesses or increase the productivity of their crops in geographically isolated areas, such as remotes islands in Indonesia and the Philippines, and where there are dodgy roads, unreliable public transport, and disrupted landlines. The mobile phone can provide an almost instant economic shot in the arm, which disperses in a self-sustaining bottom-up way. This eases the pressure on government to stimulate the economy on its own, which is welcome news for economies still under the clouds of slow economic growth.
The mobile’s secret weapon is accessibility. Internet freedom: Controversy. Introducing the digital divide debate The phrase 'digital divide' is used by many politicians, commentators and activists. It is the subject of numerous conferences and research papers and a growing number of government and private sector initiatives have been set up to deal with it. The digital divide is an amorphous term encompassing a number of discussions about inequality and the lack of access to Information Communication Technologies (ICTs). Put simply, it is the gap between the information haves and have-nots. The discussion about the digital divide manifests itself in different ways, reflecting national and regional concerns ranging from the need for a skilled workforce to bridging racial division as well as concern about the Third World is being left behind in the implementation of ICTs.
This overview will look at various aspects of the discussion, examining the differences and the underlying themes. There are many aspects to the digital divide debate. Warning: include(../.. Digital divide debate « ForgetMeNot Africa. In Part 8 of the ForgetMeNot Africa Digital Divide Debate series Kouassi Francois, Director of Marketing and Communications at Moov Niger shares his thoughts with ForgetMeNot Africa. He explains that in Niger, to bridge the Digital Divide we must first tackle illiteracy. More than 80% of population cannot read or write to send and SMS and much rather use voice. Until this is tackled The Digital Divide in Niger will only grow and it is a major problem which needs to be addressed.
Connecting rural communities has become a major issue for the telecommunications industry in Africa, according to a recent survey conducted by Informa Telecoms & Media. Continue reading In Part 6 of the ForgetMeNot Africa Digital Divide Debate series, Emmanuel Okonji journalist from the Daily Independent Newspaper shares his thoughts on the digital divide in Africa. Filmed at West and Central Africa, Dakar, Senegal June 2010. Filmed at Digital Africa, Kampala, Uganda, 2010. Digital_Natives_Digital_Immigrants. Bennett_et_al_20081.