Buying a mobile phone was the wisest $20 Ranvir Singh ever spent. Mr Singh, a farmer in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, used to make appointments in person, in advance, to deliver fresh buffalo milk to his 40-odd neighbours. Now his customers just call when they want some. Mr Singh's income has risen by 25%, to 7,000 rupees ($149) a month. And he hears rumours of an even more bountiful technology. He has heard that "something on mobile phones" can tell him the current market price of his wheat. Mr Singh does not know that that "something" is the internet, because, like most Indians, he has never seen or used it. But the phone in his calloused hand hints at how hundreds of millions of people in emerging markets -- perhaps even billions -- will one day log on. more...
Which pesticide will protect my crops? It's a question most farmers in insect-ridden rural India ask themselves or their neighbors. But it's also a question to which very few have the correct answer. more...
The average American waits less than a second for Google to respond to a search query. In most of Africa, it takes three seconds to do the same thing. This two-second difference may not seem a drastic, but such a delay typifies the gap between Internet use in Africa and other parts of the world. more...
The Hyderabad Action Plan adopted today by the ITU World Telecommunication Development Conference outlined a road map to foster the global development of information and communication technology (ICT) networks and services over the next four year cycle. The roll out of next-generation networks (NGN) and increased access to broadband services, wireless technologies and the Internet were recognized as catalysts to achieve the broader development goals. more...
The United Nations telecommunications agency's quadrennial development conference wrapped up today with participants adopting a plan of action to promote the global development of information and communication technology (ICT) networks and services. more...
ITU's World Telecommunication/ICT Development Report 2010 was launched today at the World Telecommunication Development Conference (WTDC-10), which is currently meeting in Hyderabad. The report provides a mid-term review of the progress made in creating a global information society by 2015, a commitment that governments agreed upon at the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) which took place in Geneva in 2003 and in Tunis in 2005.
Mobile technology leads to connectivity revolution more...
The group behind the "$100 laptop" has signed a deal which it hopes will deliver low cost computers to every primary school child in East Africa. more...
Addressing criticism that parts of the nation were being left behind by a growing information technology gap, the government on Wednesday vowed to provide cheaper and more widespread Internet access. more...
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