[iDC] Cell phones in developing countries

[Jonathan McIntosh]

Have not posted before, been on the list for a year maybe following posts.

This topic reminded me of these articles about the other side of cell phones
and their devastating effect on the 2/3rds world and the Congo
specifically...worth a read.


"This is the story of the deadliest war since Adolf Hitler's armies marched
across Europe; a war that has not ended. But it is also the story of a trail
of blood that leads directly to you: to your remote control, to your mobile
phone, to your laptop and to your diamond necklace."


Congo: The War the World Ignores
by Johann Hari, UK Independent
http://www.sundayindependent.co.za/index.php?fArticleId=3245293

War-Devastated Congo, Your Remote Control, Playstation and Cell Phone.
AUDIO - Amy Goodman interviewing Johann Hari
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/08/07/1436229



-Jonathan McIntosh
www.capedmaskedandarmed.com


On 12/31/33 10:10 PM, "Trebor Scholz" <trebor at thing.net> wrote:

> The growth of cell phone use in Africa is indeed explosive: the lack of an
> extensive landline telephony infrastructure makes mobile phones a good
> alternative.
> But consider this: In 2006, the Washington Post published an article showing
> that "worldwide, there are more than 2.4 billion cell phone users... and
> [a]bout
> 59 percent of these users are in developing countries, making cell phones the
> first telecommunications technology in history to have more users there than
> in
> the developed world." [1] Cell phone usage in Africa, the article continued,
> is growing faster than in any other region and jumped from 63 million users
> two
> years ago to about 152 million. This is not some kind of mobile business
> evangelism: life in Africa is changed drastically for those with access.
> 
> Africa is in the grip of a mobile phone revolution. "The number of mobile
> phone lines in Africa rose from 15.6 to 135 million between 2000 and 2005"
> OhmyNews reported how women in South Africa fight for their human rights with
> cell phones. [2] This report continued: ³In a culture where people travel
> long distances to find work, the mobile has become the most useful and
> ubiquitous piece of technology since the bicycle. Just as bicycles are used in
> rural
> Africa to transport bananas or paying passengers, the mobile is changing lives
> in ways unimagined in the developed world. It links distant families and
> allows
> the poor to communicate.²
> 
> References:
> 
> [1] 
> http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/08/AR200607080106
> 3.html
> 
> [2] 
> http://english.ohmynews.com/articleview/article_view.asp?no=339544&rel_no=1
> 
> Further Reading:
> 
> Talk is cheap, and getting cheaper
> http://www.guardian.co.uk/hearafrica05/story/0,15756,1569470,00.html
> 
> How mobile phones might revolutionize agriculture in West Africa
> http://www.ethanzuckerman.com/blog/?p=1215
> 
> Wind and sun powered base station powers up in Africa
> http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/02/14/moto_green_gsm_cell/
> 
> For Africa, a godsend in cellphones
> http://rasa.iht.com/articles/2005/08/24/business/africatel.php
> 
> From Matatu to the Masai via mobile
> http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6241603.stm
> 
> 
> Podcasts:
> 
> The Future of Africa, part 1
> http://cdn.itconversations.com/ITC.PopTech2005-FutureOfAfrica.1-2005.10.23.mp3
> 
> The Future of Africa, part 2
> http://cdn.itconversations.com/ITC.PopTech2005-FutureOfAfrica.2-2005.10.23.mp3
> 
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