Mobile phones as a platform for the developing world?
28-March-2007
permalink comments (3)We've spent a lot of time at the Hewlett Conference on Open educational Resources being persuaded that mobile phones are the future platform for e-learning, particularly in the developing countries, especially with the spread of wifi enabled phones. May be right, may be wrong - I'm not convinced one way or the other. in general I am unconvinced that the next platform is the key issue although affordability and access to hardware and infrastructure is obviously a key issue in those countries. I am even less convinced that aid is counter productive and the answer is to leave it to the market as we are being told (citing research funded by Vodaphone!).
Some of the figures are pretty interesting though (not sure of the source).
Developing world
- There are 1.5 billion mobile phones in the developing world
- The industry expects to sell another 1 billion in the next 3 years
- Mobile phone usage is growing by 1 million a month growth in india
India
- There are 48 mobile phone users per thousand of population
- There are 23 internet users per thousand of population
- There are 11 PC users per thousand of population
- There are 0.5 broadband users per thousand of population
China
- There are 258 mobile users per thousand of population
-
There are 73 internet users per thousand of population
- There are 40 PC users per thousand of population
Brazil
-
There are 109 internet suers per thousand of population
- There are 86 PC users per thousand of population
South Africa
-
There are 471 mobile users per thousand of population
- There are 81 internet users per thousand of population
- There are 88 PC users per thousand of population
Indonesia
- There are 141 mobile phone users per thousand of population
- There are 52 internet users per thousand of population
- There are 19 PC users per thousand of population
Percentage of population with mobile phone coverage
- India - 40%
- China - 56%
- South Africa - 90%
- Indonesia 73%
What does all this mean? I'm not sure but it does tend to point to the potential of mobile phones as a platform.
3 Replies (comments)
1 Connectivity
Hi Graham
I think the important point is the rapid growth in connectivity. Just for now the mobile phone is driving the network expansions, both national and local infrastructure. Once there is a connection, and given the rapid evolution and replacement rates of the client side hardware, many and varied hardware solutions will evolve to meet growing needs and demands.
Right now the phone offers cheap and ubiquitous access to the connnection. Hardware will evolve to meet the requirement and to make use of the increasing access to bandwidth.
The focus is on developing services for these markets to supply local need.
Regards
Alan
