Bringing down costs of Internet access could set off the same wave of connectivity that has made mobile phone usage commonplace in developing countries, was a repeated theme as innovators and corporate leaders from some of the world’s leading technology firms met in northern California with government leaders, activists and United Nations officials.
In 2004 alone, Africa added some 15 million new mobile phone subscribers, and such subscriptions have more than doubled since 1999, according to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). Telecom de-regulation and skyrocketing cell phone use in Nigeria, for instance, have produced “spin-offs of spirituality and spin-offs of profit” in that country, Titi Akinsami of SchoolnetAfrica Project told the meeting of the UN Global Alliance for Information and Communication Technologies for Development. She clarified that subscribers are devising value-added information services that fill social and religious needs.
But making available low-cost computers and cheap Internet depends on a complex chain of on-the-ground realities, of which technological innovation is only one component, Intel Corporation chairman Craig Barrett pointed out. Among these are strong connection to international internet, domestic connections and service providers, and content in local languages which meet local needs, said Mr. Barrett, who serves as chairman of the Alliance’s steering committee.
A sound regulatory system that encourages fair competition and innovative business models are also pre-requisite, added ITU Secretary-General Hamadoun Touré, an Alliance steering committee member.
With its budget of virtually zero, the Alliance is a "low-bureaucracy organization", Mr. Barrett told some 100 Silicon Valley technology executives, venture capitalists, academics and journalists gathered at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View. Founded in 2006, the Global Alliance for ICT and Development brings together private, public sector and civil society organizations to collaborate on multi-faceted mechanisms to spread the digital revolution worldwide.
Today’s exchange of ideas and experiences covered issues such as bringing broadband to Africa, building a volunteer cyber corps and linking venture capital to development. Also on the agenda were talks on crafting local content, encouraging the spread of telecentres, and mining technological innovations for development payoffs. The event was jointly organized by the Global Alliance and Intel Corporation.
The next meeting of the Global Alliance, on 26 March in New York, will feature assistive technologies for persons with disabilities. In May, there will be a global forum on youth and ICT for development, in Geneva, Switzerland.
For further information, please visit please visit http://www.un-gaid.org/ or contact Tim Wall, United Nations Department of Public Information, Tel. (646) 707-8568, e-mail: wallt@un.org, or Laura Anderson, Intel Corporation, Tel. (480) 213-8464, e-mail: laura.m.anderson@intel.com.
