Telecommunications

Get an ICT4D Job! Technical Research Assistant, ICTP

This position is in the Telecommunications-ICT for Development Unit, which develops wireless solutions for academic institutions in developing countries.

Main Responsibilities:
- To carry out research and experimental activities in the area of wireless ICT, both at ICTP and in the field.

- To participate in the organization and carrying out of the relevant training activities of the
Telecommunications-ICT for Development Unit.

More Details: http://users.ictp.it/general/vn_1064.pdf

Submitted by Ritse Erumi on Fri, 12/09/2011 - 14:35
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T. Ritse Erumi

I'm an ICT professional interested in technology and international development.

IT & Telecom Digest - Nigeria

IT & TELECOM DIGEST fills the vacuum for authoritative information in the highly dynamic ICT sector of Nigeria. Check it out here:

http://www.ittelecomdigest.com/

Submitted by fjcava on Thu, 10/29/2009 - 07:45
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FJ Cava

FJ is the Business Support Manager for Inveneo FJ has over 15 years in the non-profit field - he’s done everything from International Population Assistance in Ann Arbor, MI to Peace Corps in Gabon to Domestic Small Business Development in the Bay Area. He has a BA in Biology from Ithaca College with a minor in Photography and an MBA in Entrepreneurship from San Francisco State University. He also spends some nights teaching business planning classes for a local non-profit called Women’s Initiative. FJ started his own Internet Cafe in the Bayview District of San Francisco called the Bayview Webspot.

Broadband Beats Mobile Phones in Boosting GDP

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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Posted by Wayan Vota on October 5, 2009
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Wayan Vota

Inveneo

Wayan Vota is a technology expert focused on appropriate information and communication technologies (ICT) for rural and underserved areas of the developing world. He is a Senior Director at Inveneo and is the editor of ICTworks

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