[LINK] Re: Windows XP versus Vista

[David Goldstein]

Stephen,

You are right there are pockets of Africa with great telecommunications. Parts of South Africa come to mind. But a friend who lives in the capital of Namibia finds it difficult to get more than dial-up. And through mobile internet she gets a very expensive connection to the internet. A huge country of only two million people has more things on its mind than broadband access for all. 

And an article by Steven Huter and Adiel Akplogan from the University of Oregon Network Startup Resource Center and Regional Registry for Internet Number Resources for Africa in The Guardian recently (see www.guardian.co.uk/media/2007/dec/03/mondaymediasection.internet) outlines a lot of the problems. There are also other stories on my website under Digital Divide and Governance. See http://technewsreview.com.au/

But the main issues are lack of infrastructure, the cost of a personal computer,  limited or unavailable national infrastructure (power and fibre) and regulatory and political environments with cumbersome barriers
that removed would encourage competition by opening up markets to engage more access
providers.

The article referred to was broadly supported by contacts in Africa.

And yes, mobile communications are booming, but even at a growth rate of 35% per year, it will be decades before they approach the penetration rate of western countries. One thing though, electricity is unknown in many parts of the third world.

David

----- Original Message ----
From: Stephen Wilson <swilson at lockstep.com.au>
To: link at anu.edu.au
Sent: Thursday, 24 January, 2008 1:51:37 PM
Subject: Re: [LINK] Re:  Windows XP versus Vista


David Goldstein wrote:
> A lot of this talk of whether a person living in the third world can
> use Vista misses a very vital point. It is extremely unlikely there
> will is the infrastructure to even run a computer let alone have
> internet access.

This seems a rather pessimistic view of the "third world".

They have telecommmunications.  The Commission for Africa in 2004 
reported that the "number of mobile subscribers has already grown to 
over 50 million, representing over 7% of the population. The number of 
subscribers is currently expanding at around 35% a year, and is
 forecast 
to continue over the next few years".

The only other infrastructure needed to run a PC would be electrickery,
 
which I don't think is unknown in the "third world".

Cheers,

Stephen Wilson
Managing Director
Lockstep

Phone +61 (0)414 488 851

www.lockstep.com.au
-------------------
  * Lockstep Technologies: ICT Secrets of Innovation Finalist 2007
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