dc.description.abstract | For over a decade Information Communications Techno
logy (ICT) has come to
dominate daily life around the globe. Whether it is
for financial information, markets,
news, general knowledge or simply entertainment, the ease and speed of
communication has grown phenomenally.
The most obvious manifestation of ICT is with PC’s
and the internet, but ICT is also
much more than this. Communication is at the heart
of ICT and no other device in
history has enabled more effective communication to
so many people than the mobile
phone.
Possession of a mobile phone used to be viewed partly as a status symbol, a sign of
affluence, but, far from being for the wealthier in
society, mobile phone technology is
a revolutionary development that allows affordable
connectivity throughout the world.
Although this technology is new, the developing world has not been slow to take
advantage and Africa, for example, has some of the
highest subscriber growth figures
(Warden & N'getich, 2007). There is a danger, however, that much of this growth is
taking place in the urban centres and that the rural populations may get left behind to
suffer information-poverty | en |