The inaugural Mobile World Cup, hosted by the South Korean cellphone maker LG Electronics, brought together two-person teams from 13 countries who had clinched their national titles by beating a total of six million contestants. Marching behind their national flags, they gathered in New York on Jan. 14 for what was billed as an international clash of dexterous digits.

To ensure a level playing field, LG handed out identical mobile phones — one with a numeric keypad and the other with a keyboardlike QWERTY pad — weeks in advance for practice. The basic rule of the competition: copy phrases streaming across a monitor correctly, with the required capitalization and punctuation, as quickly as possible. Whichever language players chose, words were selected so that each would type the same number of characters.

DIRSI’s study on mobile price and affordability also adapts the OECD price baskets to compare the monthly costs of using mobiles in six Latin American countries. The Latin American baskets take into consideration call and SMS volumes and usage data as specified in the OECD methodology,[5] but excludes initial connection charges. The DIRSI study also does not report data on postpaid or indicate whether different MoUs have been applied to prepaid and postpaid.

Despite differences in methodology, it is interesting to note the rather large differences in the monthly costs between users in South Asia and Latin America; even though the former takes into account a broader set of costs. Table 1 shows that a low user in Afghanistan (who pays the most in South Asia) is still paying approximately half that paid by a low user in the cheapest of the Latin American countries studied (Argentina) when comparing the findings in straight USD. In Purchasing Power Parity terms (which reflect affordability), the differences are still dramatic.

Besides, by January 1, all mobile operators should start exchanging their lists of stolen devices, the official said. 

Conatel is also asking all operators to have in place by July 1 an equipment identity register (EIR) system to identify stolen phones when users try to activate them.  

The EIR platforms cost around US$500,000, Martínez said. 

Paraguay’s mobile operators are Telecel, a unit of Luxembourg-based Millicom International Cellular, Hola, which is backed by Japanese investors, Telecom
Argentina’s unit Personal and Mexican giant América Móvil’s CTI Móvil.

Title: Diversifying Participation in Network Development: Case studies and research from WDR Research Cycle 3
Editors: Amy Mahan and William H. Melody
Document date: September 2007
Pages: 230

The book is divided into three sections. The first, entitled Affordability and Use, opens with a study on affordability – definitions, analysis and issues. This is followed by two demand side studies, the first focusing on mobile use by the poor; and the second assessing communication expenditures across four developing countries. The final chapter in this section reports on a survey of ICT use by SMEs in eight African countries.

Section 2, Models to Extend Participation in Network Development considers microfinance, smart subsidies, community owned microtelcos and the extension of research networks. The countries used to highlight these alternative approaches include Bangladesh, Nepal, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Peru and Ghana.

Section 3, Regulatory and Information Practices, begins with two chapters dedicated to the information provision and communication practices of regulators – which are important for cultivating informed participation in regulatory processes. Next regional regulation in support of national regulators and to ensure competitive markets is examined using the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States as a case study. Further perspective on this is provided by a chapter on multinational operators in African mobile markets. The section concludes with a case study on the regulatory environment in Guyana.

This report is the third in a series of research cycles that WDR is undertaking to assess different approaches to regulation in a rapidly changing telecom environment. With the advent of privatisation, competition, and converging infrastructure sectors, the role of the regulator is in a transitional phase. The first World Dialogue on Regulation research cycle assessed two emerging regulatory trends and the report, The Next Step in Telecom Reform: ICT Convergence Regulation or Multisector Utility Regulation; and the second cycle, Stimulating Investment in Network Development: Roles for Regulators – are both available for download and hardcopies of the second can be ordered from WDR.

Diversifying Participation in Network Development, A.K. Mahan and W.H. Melody (eds), Uruguay, 2007. ISBN (printed version): 978-9974-8067-0-2

Table of Contents:
Chapter 1. Introduction | William H. Melody
Section 1 – Affordability and Use
Chapter 2. Improving Affordability of Telecommunications: Cross-fertilisation between the developed and the developing world | Claire Milne
Chapter 3. Telecom Use on a Shoestring: Expenditure and perceptions of affordability amongst the financially constrained | Avanti Moonesinghe, Harsha de Silva, Neluka Silva & Ayoma Abeysuriya
Chapter 4. Variations in Expenditure on Communications in Developing Countries: A synthesis of the evidence from Albania, Mexico, Nepal and South Africa (2000-2003) | Sebastian Ureta
Chapter 5. ICT Usage and its Impact on Profitability of SMEs: A case of eight African countries | Steve Esselaar, Christoph Stork, Ali Ndiwalana & Mariama Deen-Swarray
Section 2 – Models to Extend Participation in Network Development
Chapter 6. An Investigation of the Replicability of a Microfinance Approach for Extending Telecom Access to Marginal Customers | Malathy Knight-John, Ayesha Zainudeen & Abu-Saeed Khan
Chapter 7. Smart Subsidies – Getting the Conditions Right: The experience of expanding rural telecoms in Nepal | Harsha de Silva & Ratna Kaji Tuladhar
Chapter 8. Microtelcos in Latin America and the Caribbean | Hernan Galperin & Bruce Girard
Chapter 9. Research and Education Network in Ghana: Promoting ICT in developing countries through research cooperation | Reza Tadayoni & Knud Erik Skouby
Section 3 – Regulatory and Information Practices
Chapter 10. Benchmarking National Telecom Regulatory Authority Websites of the Asia-Pacific Region | Chanuka Wattegama
Chapter 11. An Institutional and Practical Evaluation of URSEC – Uruguay’s Communication Regulator – and its Relationship with Citizens | Gustavo Gómez & Amy Mahan
Chapter 12. Regional Regulation of Telecom Markets in the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States | Andrew Barendse
Chapter 13. Multinational Operators in African Mobile Markets | Ewan Sutherland
Chapter 14. Privatisation, Regulation and Investment: A case study of the telecom regulatory environment (TRE) and investment in Guyana | Samuel Braithwaite

Foundation Partners | About the Authors
Diversifying Participation in Network Development

Language corrections on the questionnaire were noted. Changes to the cover letter were discussed. Wording of the confidentiality statement needs to be changed

Harsha said that when the study was performed in Argentina by Hernan Galperin et al., the scale was modified, putting the middle as zero, and positives and negatives on either side. How this can be best presented graphically will have to be determined. Helani flagged the possible perception bias that may arise; respondents may think twice about giving a negative score. Divakar suggested that the data be collected on a positive 1-5 scale, but in analysis convert the responses to a -2.5 to + 2.5 scale. Harsha said that this shouldn’t be done because you can’t change their resopnses to negative responses when the original responses elicited were not negative. The bias could be corrected for, however this would take away from the results. The discussion surrounding this option should be discussed in the Manual anyhow.

The possibility of providing statements relating to the TRE to the respondents, and asking them whether they argree, don’t agree, etc etc. was raised by Rohan. The problems with this approach were discussed, and the idea was dropped.

The value of consistency of terms and definitions (e.g. rights of way – frequencies only? or frequencies, numbers and rights of way?) was discussed; divakar mentioned that the importance of consistency should be impressed upon users of the Manual, in allowing for comparisons accross countries, as well as time.

Helani suggested that researcher should have some way of identifying the respondent, so that the researcher can track-back to see who said what, especially if there are any queries from the respondents themselves. But, most importantly, this data (identifyable information) should be kept under strict lock and key.

Divakar suggested that other investment climate studies should be examined to see if they assess the environment strictly or also include performance assessment. He noted that the ’TRE’ term should not be changed because we will lose the capital we have accumulated up to this point of time.

Shamistra and Lara presented the prosposed structure (proposed structure).

Divakar suggested that we have one single number, or index which allows us to rank countries, as in the Digital Opportunity Index (DOI). So a simple mathematical average of the mobile and fixed scores.  Rohan mentioned that in a few years time, fixed will lose its importance. Helani suggested that the fixed  and mobile scores be weighted by the respective number of subscribers. Rohan disagreed; the foundations of the industry (e.g fixed interconnection scores) are under-weighted, when in fact they are very important in industry performance; complex weightings won’t be good. Divakar suggested weighting by revenue. Rohan suggested stacking all the fixed and mobile components together (rather than the present case where fixed and mobile are separate graphs).

Divakar suggested a seperate section in the Manual relating to the importance of confidentiality; Rohan emphasised that this is crucial in getting responses.

Looks like this will change the nature of the debate.   The report states that Intel and Microsoft are not happy with Negoponte’s baby. 

For $150, Third-World Laptop Stirs a Big Debate – New York Times

Mary Lou Jepsen, the chief technologist for the project, likes to refer to the insight that transformed the machine from utopian dream to working prototype as “a really wacky idea.”

Ms. Jepsen, a former Intel chip designer, found a way to modify conventional laptop displays, cutting the screen’s manufacturing cost to $40 while reducing its power consumption by more than 80 percent. As a bonus, the display is clearly visible in sunlight.

That advance and others have allowed the nonprofit project, One Laptop Per Child, to win over many skeptics over the last two and a half years. Five countries — Argentina, Brazil, Libya, Nigeria and Thailand — have made tentative commitments to put the computers into the hands of millions of students, with production in Taiwan expected to begin by mid-2007.

The laptop does not come with a Microsoft Windows operating system or even a hard drive, and the screen is small. And the cost is now closer to $150 than $100. But the price tag, even compared with low-end $500 laptops now widely available, transforms the economic equation for developing countries.