Currently, around one to two billion users are able to connect to the Internet, most of them living in the industrialized parts of the world. However, if we want to improve the quality of life of the world population with the help of access to information and education, it is necessary that in the next decade an additional five billion people gain access to the Internet. The next five billion Internet users are mainly living in emerging economies. Therefore, the main challenge is to lower the economic barrier using new approaches for infrastructure deployment and service delivery to billions of people. This book reflects the discussions of the challenges from the Münchner Kreis with representatives from the ICT industry, academia, non-governmental organizations and governmental development organizations, among them many representatives from emerging economies in Africa and Asia. They had highlighted the real demand for ICT, and what impact ICT creates for the wealth and lifestyle of the people.
Author(s): Prof. Jörg Eberspächer (auth.), Arnold Picot, Josef Lorenz (eds.)
Edition: 1
Publisher: Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
Year: 2010
Language: English
Pages: 124
Tags: Media Management; Business Information Systems; Communications Engineering, Networks
Front Matter....Pages I-VIII
Opening Remarks....Pages 1-2
ICT for the Poor at Large Scale: Innovative Connections to Markets and Services....Pages 3-14
People Driven Innovation – How to create the Demand for ICT Solutions in Underserved Areas....Pages 15-23
Transfer of services to emerging markets – mobile services, m-payment & m-health....Pages 25-33
Incubating Micro Enterprises in Rural South Africa – The Use Case of Virtual Buying Cooperatives....Pages 35-45
“What can we learn from the Developing World?” Impact of Mobile Applications from developing Markets on Mature Economies....Pages 47-54
Mobile Broadband Community Centers....Pages 55-61
Myths about ICT for the Other Billions....Pages 63-80
From Voice to Broadband Data – Affordable Communications in Emerging Markets....Pages 81-90
Leapfrogging ICT with Cloud Computing in Emerging Countries....Pages 91-97
PANEL DISCUSSION ICT and Economics Development in Underserved Markets – A Chicken and Egg Problem....Pages 99-117
Closing Remarks....Pages 119-119
Back Matter....Pages 121-122
