The conference opened with a standing ovation and a song! The arrival of the Vice President of the Republic of Uganda followed by a rendition of the Ugandan national anthem kicked of Digital Africa 2010. (more…)
Tags: Bridging the digital divide, digital divide debate, digital revolution, Dr Hamadoun Toure, ForgetMeNot Africa, the ITU Secretary General
Mobile phones are seeing a surge in popularity in Africa. Telephone landlines are slow to roll out across rural Africa, leaving difficult to access areas without fixed phone lines and internet access. Mobile towers solve the problem, by making mobile phones accessible. According to the Guardian, in the Democratic Republic of Congo there are only 10,000 fixed-line telephones, but more than 8 million mobile subscribers. (more…)
Tags: Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, mobile banking, Mobile phones
Kenyan mobile network operator, Safaricom has launched a solar-powered mobile phone according to Cellular News. Branded Simu ya Solar and manufactured under a partnership with ZTE, the handset is made from recycled materials and has an in-built solar panel. (more…)
Tags: Kenya, Michael Joseph, mobile network operators, Safaricom
For many years people have spoken about how reliable access to internet services will change the way education is delivered in Africa. While most Western schools do enjoy full use of email and the internet, a large majority of African schools still do not have the same ability due to the lack of access and a problem known widely as the digital divide. (more…)
According to IT News Africa, Econet Wireless Group (EWG) of South Africa has started moves to block the sale of Kuwaiti-based Zain’s interests in Zain Nigeria until a ruling on a dispute over ownership of the company is passed. Last week media reports indicated that the Zain Group, a mobile telecoms company with operations in 22 countries in the Middle East and Africa, may agree to a deal to sell its African operations to French company Vivendi for up to USD12 billion.
Tags: African mobile networks, Econet, ForgetMeNot Africa, Nigeria, Zain, Zimbabwe
This is another recent example of how technology and partnerships are helping to bridge the digital divide. Google , The Grameen foundation and MTN have launched mobile applications for communities who have no access to information reports IT News Africa. (more…)
Tags: Add new tag, Google, Grameen Foundation, IT News Africa, MTN, Uganda
In Part 4 of the Digital Divide Debate series, Ajibola Olude from the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria shares his thoughts on the digital divide and what needs to be done to bridge this.
Filmed at West Africa Com, Abuja, Nigeria June 2009.
Tags: Ajibola Olude, Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria, digital divide debate, FMNA, ForgetMeNot Africa
In part 3, the Development Manager for IT and Telecom Digest magazine shares his thoughts on the digital divide debate.
Filmed at West Africa Com, Abuja, Nigeria June 2009.
SMS Applications come into their own when the majority of subscribers don’t have smartphones.
Juniper Research believes that, in 2008, approximately 45% of mobile devices sold worldwide were socalled ‘entry-level’ handsets (which… Nokia defines as being handsets with a retail value less than $60). A small but growing proportion of this total is accounted for by ultra-low cost handsets, which retail for $15 or less.
Of the 700 million low-cost handsets expected to be sold in 2014, Juniper Research believes that the greatest proportion – around 24% – will be sold in Africa and the Middle East…
Tags: African mobile networks, Bridging the digital divide, digital divide debate, ForgetMeNot Africa, Handsets, Low cost handsets, Ultra low cost handsets
In our second video interview on the Digital Divide Debate, Dominic Edem from the Nigerian Communications Commission gives his thoughts as to what the main issues and barriers are.
Filmed at West Africa Com, Abuja, Nigeria June 2009.
Tags: digital divide debate, Dominic Edem, ForgetMeNot Africa, Nigerian Communications Commission, West Africa Com
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