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Mobile phones are a ticket out of poverty for millions. No argument there. But check out this global ICT study by Christine Zhen-Wei Qiang, an economist at the World Bank for a surprising comparison with broadband Internet.

Note the broadband boost vs. mobile phones

She found that for every 10 percentage points increase in broadband penetration, there is an incremental increase in economic growth of 1.3 percentage points. This compares to the 0.8 percent increase for mobile phones. I would not have expected such a great differential - almost a 2x greater GDP boost via broadband than mobiles,

Yet, because of the greater reach and density of mobile phone usage - more mobiles than light bulbs in Uganda - they have a larger aggregate effect than broadband, for now. Soon though, we should see the new broadband connections in East Africa competing with mobile phones in penetration and usage.

Back at the macro telecommunications level, developing countries received a greater boost from all ICT formats than developed countries. Christine says this is because telecommunications services in the developing world have more to gain when ICT helps public and private sectors:

1. improve the functioning of the markets,
2. reduce transaction costs,
3. and increase productivity through better management.

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