The Internet & the Developing World

It's ironic that I just finished editing a story on this particular topic before clicking onto this report.

In "Google-Backed 'O3b' Satellites Promise High-Speed Internet Access," (http://www.informationweek.com/news/services/data/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=210600659) The funding comes from U.S. companies and investors. While I agree that high-speed access is necessary to close the digital divide and grow the IT economy, I also see the need for local governments to partner with enterprise.

The reason? to exercise local controls and service their regions propperly, otherwise we might as well start identifying countries by their sponsorships, and I don't think anyone wants to see The United States of Google, Intel-ville, or Microsoft-land (formerly Spain).

So bottom line is that O3b is a good addition to the growing number of deployments. Let's use that advantage for free and open growth, shall we?

Demand drives innovation and the proliferation of mobile devices that are Internet ready should make user interaction with Internet content much more friendly over the next 12 months. The proliferation of social network applications with mobile device support should act as a driver. Site development tools that allow for selective information display based on the viewing device will make the mobile Internet viewing experience more effective.

I myself am not sure I want to be so connected to be always on here in the "developed" world, but the value of mobile Internet access cannot be denied when you are talking about a farmer in Kenya wanting to check on information to help her with her crops, or a medical doctor in Myanmar seeking help with a diagnosis. I remember my brother working with a mission in Nicaragua as a doctor and having to be connected by short wave radio to a surgeon in order to get advice while tending a patient in Puerto Cabezas. Mobile Internet would have made it possible not only to hear the voice of the surgeon but also see images that would have provided strong visual support for a life saving surgical intervention.

Whether through satellite or cell tower proliferation, the Internet serves the developing world in even more innovative ways than the developed one. In this developed world we are used to the big screen. I'm staring at a 22" display on my desk as I type these words. That's a luxury for the developing world and not the future medium of choice for Internet connection, just a nice to have option.

On the question of education being important for proper use of the Internet, I would like to add my 2 cents. The Internet is an education source. Teaching someone the fundamentals of being able to Google something through a natural language query using voice recognition technology built into mobile handsets doesn't require higher education but it can lead to it. Opening the Internet door wide to as many societies in the developing world may even educate those in the developed world, breaking down barriers.

This really is a big report. And it's quite thorough. Well done.

I just have some quick comments. Like the last BigReport about the internet saving the planet, I think we are once again talking about "Internet-enabled capabilities" where the internet is being used or utilized as a relatively very effective tool to facilitate communication and process. Where fast and interactive communication means success, any applications can take advantage of the internet. Concepts, such as philanthropy, microfinance, match funding and many others, are nothing new (...whether they are for helping people in the developing world or anyone in need anywhere). Without the internet they would still be implemented. But with the help of the internet and web techonologies, they have a higher chance of being successful. Also, there are a number of links in between the internet and the developing world that I think are worthwhile to note, such as the linking between the internet and philanthropy, and then philanthropy and the developing world. So, there may not necessarily be a direct link between the internet and the developing world just because philanthropy gets better with the internet.

Nevertheless, I do support philanthropy and all good causes, and I'll be glad if the internet is really helping the process.

Hi Nicole,

You've written a good report on a vast subject. I'm sure there would be more on this topic in the future. Some thoughts..

1. While there are more mobile phones than PC's , Internet on the mobile is not ready. At the simplest level, there are awareness issues on making usable and accessible sites for the mobile plus the issue of languages.

2. Internet access on the mobile is an added cost on an existing service. This too has usage implications.

3. SMS/MMS may play a greater role to begin with.

4. Healthcare is likely to be addressed by

    a. Education to local aid workers

    b. Information proactively delivered directly to people who need it the most.

    c. Information could be delivered via MMS or phoneouts integrated with IVR to ensure retention. 

    d. One might consider the  ability to raise aid directly at the health center or hospital. At its simplest level information on the person requiring assistance can be sent directly to the aid organisation and thus making it more transparent to aid donors.  It is simply a matter of innovating on the technology that is available and make the best use possible of the internet.

5. Others have commented on the need for education. I would like to add that it is also about empowerment. I came across an address by Jacqueline Novogratz at TED on patient capital. It is also not simply a matter of aid but of dignity.

6. Innovating with digital technologies to empower. What could be better. It is here I would point you to a pioneering effort that is now a case study. ITC's E-choupal project leveraged technology to empower the farmer to reach remunerative markets. 

7. Further on the topic of empowerment and microfinance, consider the pioneering work done by Grameen Bank in Bangladesh . Beyond empowerment through microfinance , Grameen is seeking to provide internet via the phone through its telecom and phone initiatives.

Syamant 

Hi Nicole,

Many thanks for this great report even though i was a little bit hesitant initially to go through the entire report. I think we all do agree that that the internet has tremendous potential of transforming the socio-economic and political landscape of the developing world.We've all witness how the digiyal revolution have excerbated the existing inequalities between the nations. How does this digital revolution benefits all of the world's people, especially the poorest and most marginalized groups remain to be seen.

We do commend all the laudable initiatives you mentioned in your post that seek to improve the welfare of people in the developing world using the digital revolution. However, with the host of barriers namely political, financial and economic, infrastructure, educational and cultural barriers, it would take serious committment by the 'west' to help conquer the grand challenge of connecting every rural village to the internet in the forseable future. Certainly, an 'information super- highway' would never be the priority of most governments in the developing world who are still not able to come up with solutions to the perennial problems of poverty, illiteracy, health, etc.

It was reported that the U.S. spent almost $100 billion to meet the challenge of putting a man on the moon." 

I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to Earth." — John F. Kennedy, 1961" While the effort of putting a man on the moon is laudable, i wonder how much committment would be given by the 'west' to meet the challenge of a 'global village'. I'm optimist that it will happen in my life time even though the odds are pointing that i may be living in utopia. At least for now and the forseable future words like Telemedicine, telesurgery, ecommerce and the rest of the digital jargons would remain for most part scientific fairy-tal in the minds of the masses in the developng world.

Interesting to read what someone from a developed country thinks about realities that are lived in developing nations, specially in a field such as technology and its usage among its population. And there are many things that are very true that are mentioned, such as how to expect birth attendants to use internet if they can't read or write. It might be sad to accept that so many people from our countries are so ignorant, not because they can't read or write, just plain and simple because in whole its education has either been bad or inexistent. And everything is about that: education. Its not about the penetration of cell phones, or the number of cell towers that are installed, it isn't about the hardware, it isn't even about the software, its all about education. How can you expect for someone to use a cell phone when they don't even know what numbers are? (don't even think about trying to explain those phone keyboards). That is why governments from these nations must worry first about the root of the problem, the education of its population is critical to allow them to even start thinking about the usage of technology and its benefits that bring to the entire population. In Chile for example, which as a matter of fact has one of the highests internet penetration in hispanic america, the internet penetration has stuck for the last 3-4 years on 36%, before that, its growth rate was impressive but when it reached 36% it just stopped growing. Why? Just because people don't know how to use it, what it is for and how this information highway can bring any benefits either to its business or to its personal development. The government has many iniciatives in place to incentivate the use of technologies such as Internet, but the problem is that people need to have a certain education base before any of this concepts are even explianed. Its like teaching maths, how do you expect someone to learn calculus if you never taught them aritmethics.

Looking at the paper The Internet and the Developing world, and looking at the Graph depicted anybody can easily understand whats the condition of Internet usage in developing countries. As a member of a developing country 'Banglagesh' I think Internet usage is a MUST for improving the quality of higher education.

I was working as a Lecturer in a University in my country. When I came in USA in 2006, and started my MBA program, I found vast differences in quality of education. I know the quality of faculty, their devotion in their job is same as that of faculties in USA. But what makes the differences in quality of education is 'use of Internet' . Here in the class all professors use examples and shows from the website in the class. Students get all sort of on-time information they need for increasing their knowledge.

The professors of developing countries also want to give the best knowledge they can  deliver. But the internet facilities are so poor, electricity availability is also poor. Even for poor electricity quality, the professors can not use multimedia projectors in the classes. Students can not do much research work, searching the web. Speed of internet is too slow.

I just gave here one example in education industry. Economic, administrative, business, banking all sectors of developing country need easy, cheaper, quick availability of internet for improve their performance in each of those industries.