[WSIS CS-Plenary] World Bank sees digital divide narrowing, 25 Feb

[Ken Lohento]

Dear all:

> The report says there were 59 million fixed-line or mobile phones in
Africa in 2002 - contradicting Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade's claim
last year that
> there were more telephones in Manhattan than in all of Africa.

I don't know the how serious that report is or what are it's real
objectives, since every body knows that this statement related to Manhattan
was made years ago (even if the Senegalese present repeated it). Moreover,
why claim that:

"Unless New Yorkers and their commuter friends have 12 phones each, Africa
now has many more telephones than Manhattan," the World Bank report said.

This seems a little synical....

Thanks for the info.

Ken LOHENTO
Coordinator of the Centre for International ICT Policies - West and Central
Africa (CIPACO)
Panos Institute West Africa (PIWA)
6, rue Calmette BP 21 132 Dakar Ponty
Senegal
Tel.: +221 849 16 65
www.cipaco.org
www.panos-ao.org
 -----Message d'origine-----
De : plenary-admin at wsis-cs.org [mailto:plenary-admin at wsis-cs.org]De la part
de Rik Panganiban
Envoye : vendredi 25 fevrier 2005 12:13
A : plenary at wsis-cs.org
Objet : [WSIS CS-Plenary] World Bank sees digital divide narrowing, 25 Feb



  Dear friends,

  Here is an interesting article on the World Bank views on the WSIS.

  Rik Panganiban

  ========================================

  ABC News
  http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200502/s1310673.htm

  Last Update: Friday, February 25, 2005. 9:21am (AEDT)

  World Bank sees digital divide narrowing

  The World Bank has called into question a costly UN campaign to bring
hi-tech communications to the developing world, saying the "digital divide"
between rich and poor nations is narrowing fast.

  The World Bank says in a report that telecommunications services to poor
countries are growing at an explosive rate.

  "People in the developing world are getting more access at an incredible
rate - far faster than they got access to new technologies in the past," the
report said.

  It says half the world's population now enjoys access to a fixed-line
telephone and 77 per cent to a mobile network - surpassing a World Summit on
the Information Society (WSIS) goal that calls for 50 per cent access by
2015.

  The report says there were 59 million fixed-line or mobile phones in
Africa in 2002 - contradicting Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade's claim
last year that there were more telephones in Manhattan than in all of
Africa.

  "Unless New Yorkers and their commuter friends have 12 phones each, Africa
now has many more telephones than Manhattan," the World Bank report said.

  The UN hopes that widening access within the developing world to
technology such as mobile phones and the Internet will help eradicate
poverty and build stable democracies.

  Poorer countries, particularly from Africa, are expected to repeat calls
in Geneva for a "Digital Solidarity Fund" to help finance the infrastructure
they say is needed to close the perceived technology gap.

  To help fuel fierce demand for communications in countries which lack
fixed-line alternatives, US mobile phone equipment maker Motorola Corp
announced this month it planned to provide an ultra low-cost mobile phone
for less than $US40.

  It will be aimed at emerging markets.

  About 1,700 international experts are gathering in Switzerland to prepare
for the United Nation's World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS).
  ===============================================
  RIK PANGANIBAN Communications Coordinator
  Conference of NGOs in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations
(CONGO)
  web: http://www.ngocongo.org
  email: rik.panganiban at ngocongo.org
  mobile: (+1) 917-710-5524
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