Information Society Watch

May 25, 2008, The Daily Telegraph

The International Telecommunications Union reports that at the end of 2007, the number of mobile phone users in the world was over 3.3 billion, which is equivalent to a penetration rate of roughly 49%. The article notes that developing countries have made significant progress in mobile growth, there is still a 'digital divide' in Internet use and broadband availability.

April 10, 2008, Michael Fitzgerald, Wired.com

Picking up where municipal WiFi projects have failed, non-profit organisations in the US are working to provide Internet access to low-income Americans and communities. These organisations are learning from the challenges faced by past projects, such as lack of clear financial models for how to develop and sustain a public good like municipal wireless.

December 19, 2007, Business Week

The next two years are poised to become a significant milestone in the development of wireless communications. The availability of new spectrum for wireless deployment due to the shutdown of analog television will lead to greater accessibility and interoperability than exists at present.

February 2, 2008, Nicole Ferraro, LightReading.com

Africa has been seemingly bypassed by the growth of the Internet, as evinced by the fact that only 3.5% of the Internet users of the planet live there. There were multiple reasons for this slow growth in Internet usage, primarily due to high costs associated with cable-based services, as well lack of reliable electricity supply.

December 18, 2007, BBC News

This article discusses the importance of the Internet for a continent such as Africa. Given the abysmal standards of living of a large section of the continent's population, people have often criticised efforts for Internet growth and accessibility in Africa, which according to them should be accorded very low priority.

October 29, 2007, Richard Wray & Fahad Mayet, The Guardian

Reporting on the Connect Africa summit in the Rwandan capital of Kigali, the authors explore ways in which mobile phones may be used to aid development in Africa. A growing body of research finds that communications are an essential tool for economic regeneration, with telecommunications in particular harnessing the potential to impact GDPs and leading to an increase in foreign direct investment.

September 2007, Richard Heeks & Abi Jagun, id21

This editorial discusses the ambivalent development implications of the recent 'explosive' growth of mobile phone use around the world. The editors foresee that in less than a generation the majority of poor people will have access to mobile phones and services.

Panos

The article looks at the potential of wireless technologies to bridge the digital divide and also the barriers to its growth in the less developed countries. The benefits of wireless networks, especially in the context of providing communication capabilities in rural areas, are enormous, especially in terms of infrastructure setup and maintenance which have been typically the chief hindrances to the spread of fixed line networks. Additionally it offers flexibility in its uses, with mobility being a key value proposition. The author presents a brief summary about the types of wireless networks currently in use and then discusses the role played by governments in aiding the widespread deployment of cost effective wireless networks.

Jul 30, 2007, Indrajit Basu, Government Technology

The paper analyses the ongoing debate regarding government and local authorities providing broadband access as a public service, which are in direct conflict wih private service providers. It presents the recent case of the Prague's Wireless Network service provided by the municipility which was challenged by those in the Wi-Fi business as being unfair competition. The European Commission has ruled in the municipality's favour and the growing consensus seems to point towards allowing broadband access as a public service which will contribute to the growth of the information society and bridge the digital divide.

Free Press.net

This article proposes Community Internet as the answer to the growing divisions between the connected and unconnected sections of the US populations. In the US, some consider high-speed Internet access a basic public necessity.