Technology is full of paradoxes. While Moore’s Law ensures that our computers get cheaper and faster every few months, there is no corresponding law that ensures that the same happens with our internet connections. TRAI data shows that some 60 million people in India have access to the internet. This may seem like a substantive figure, but is only 6 per cent of the population. More shocking is that while India has over 46 million wireless internet subscribers, broadband subscribers number a mere 2.47 million. It is ironic that in a country famed for its IT services, internet connectivity in general and broadband connectivity in particular is so poor.
India has, in fact, one of the lowest broadband subscriber penetration rates in Asia. So what accounts…
23/03/08: Mobile phone service costs in Sri Lanka are cheap, even for the poor (Sinhala), Ravaya, Sri Lanka
25/03/08: Mobile is cheaper in Sri Lanka, even for the poor, The Daily News, Sri Lanka
Two recent studies have found that Sri Lanka is among four countries that offer the most affordable mobile services to the poor in emerging Asia and the world.
The first study conducted the LIRNEasia, a regional policy and regulation think tank, has found that the costs of using mobile telecom services are among the lowest in South Asia for all types of users. For the low user, essentially the poorer user, the average monthly cost of using a mobile in Sri Lanka is as low as US$ 3.83 per month if using prepaid. Sri Lanka…
Tags: Asia, Bangladesh, cellular telephone, India, mobile services, mobile telecom services, Pakistan, Ravaya, Sri Lanka, The Daily News, USD.
Sri Lanka using customs authorities to censor academics: report - LANKA BUSINESS ONLINE
Another book by Rohan Samarajiva, from LirneAsia, a Colombo-based regional policy think tank, had been detained by customs from December.
Samarajiva’s book, “ICT infrastructure in emerging Asia, Policy and Regulatory roadblocks” released by the Indian unit of academic publishing house, Sage, was launched in India in December.
Sri Lanka;s customs chief Sarath Jayathilake was quoted in the report as saying that the detention was not brought to his attention and he was not aware why the books were seized.
“We usually detain these books if it’s a matter of security and we refer them to Defence (Ministry) or the Government Information Department,” Jayathilake was quoted as saying.
The LirneAsia publication had a chapter on telecommunications usage in…
LIRNEasia researchers will participate at the International Communication Association conference in Montreal, Canada, May 21-26, 2008.
Rohan Samarajiva will present a paper based on LIRNEasia’s study on the gendered aspects of telecommunications use in emerging Asia, entitled, ‘Who’s Got the Phone? The Gendered Use of Telephones at the Bottom of the Pyramid‘.
Abstract: ‘Much has been said about women’s access to and use of the telephone. Many studies conclude that a significant gender divide in access exists particularly in developing countries. Women are also said to use telephones in a different manner from men –making and receiving more calls, spending more time on calls, and using telephones primarily for ‘relationship maintenance’ purposes, while men make fewer calls, shorter calls and use telephones primarily for instrumental purposes. However, much…
Tags: Asia, Canada, India, International Communication Association, Montreal, Pakistan, Rohan Samarajiva, Sri Lanka, telecom services, telecommunications, telephone users, Thailand, the Philippines.
Rohan Samarajiva will make a presentation on the topic “More than voice at the bottom of the pyramid: Telecommunication for development in Asia” at the ICT&S Center, University of Salzburg on the 3rd of April, 2008.
The presentation will examine the potential for the take-up of “more-than-voice” applications among the fast growing user populations in the lower socio-economic strata, or the bottom of the pyramid (BOP) in emerging Asia. It will demonstrate the extensive use of telephones (mobile, fixed and public) by the BOP. It will look at usage by current owners as well as non-owners, and more the growth trends and projections for applications other than voice. Texting, payments, and voting are among some of these “more-than-voice” applications that will be looked at. Some of the policy…
The cost of international capacity between the US and Asia has dropped dramatically in the past ten years. In 1996, US$10,000 would buy a 64kbps IPLC between Asia and the
US. The same money buys a STM-1 (155Mbps) circuit in 2006.
Dramatic drops in the price of international capacity as a result of market deregulation in the Asia Pacific is resulting in a shift in the dynamics of Internet traffic, according to a presentation at the APRICOT conference in Taipei this week. Read more.
The Economist is not correct saying ‘No Evidence’ of Internet blocking in Sri Lanka, and in Laos and Cambodia the Internet usage is low so blocking does not make any difference.
As shown, even in Asia the attitude of officialdom varies when it comes to filtering content of a social nature. In many places agreements are set with service providers to block nasty stuff such as child pornography. In a few countries intervention is stronger, up to the level of pervasive censorship. This week Pakistan’s block on YouTube accidentally caused an international outage for that website. Iran and Saudi Arabia have also prevented their citizens from accessing the video-sharing site.
Source: The Economist, Chart Gallery
Tags: Asia, Cambodia, Chart Gallery, Internet blocking, Internet usage, Islamic Republic of Iran, Laos, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, video-sharing site, YouTube.
Robert Clark says: Apple and China Mobile recently broke off talks over selling the device in the mainland after the Chinese carrier rejected Apple’s insistence on a 30% commission. An executive at a non-mainland operator said the company was keen on selling the iPhone, but just couldn’t raise Apple’s interest. Apple doesn’t have a senior executive in Asia trying to push the device and is conducting negotiations from
Cupertino at a leisurely pace.
It’s worth remembering developing countries have never been happy hunting grounds for Apple’s high-end devices. The iPhone is a low-volume, high-margin device demanding a fat airtime commission. In other words, not for developing Asia. So far Apple has shown no interest in developing Singapore or Hong Kong. Until it does, the iPhone’s sole Asian channels…
Consumers across Asia are the most prolific users of mobile messaging and are forecast to further drive message volume in 2008, a research firm said on Thursday.
Nearly 1.5 trillion mobile messages were sent in the Asia-Pacific region over the past 12 months, accounting for 78.9 per cent of all SMS traffic globally last year, said a Gartner’s report.
Nearly 2.3 trillion SMS messages are expected to be transmitted in 2008, a 19.6 per cent increase from the 2007 figure.
The usage of text and picture messaging is also forecast to increase across Asia, Gartner said, but growth rates are likely to slow down as the mobile market becomes increasingly saturated.
Read the full story in ‘The Age’ here
Click on the links to see the full articles covering LIRNEasia’s book, ICT Infrastructure in Emerging Asia: Policy and Regulatory Roadblocks.
‘BSNL’s monopoly over infrastructure a hindrance to growth’ - Financial Express (India)
Rural connectivity is now the focus of every telecommunication player in the country. Almost all stakeholders, from handset manufacturers to service providers, believe that the next wave of growth is in the rural areas.”However, India’s roll out (of telecom services) in rural areas has been slow. BSNL has the backbone infrastructure but is not yet ready to share it with private players,” he added.
Tags: access networks, Ashok Jhujhunwala, Asia, ATM, Ayesha Zainudeen, backbone infrastructure, Bangladesh, cellular telephone, Chennai, Department of Telecommunications, Financial Express, GSM, Harsha de Silva, IDRC, India, Jhunjhunwala, LIRNE asia, Madras, mobile phones, Pakistan, Rohan Samarajiva, rural telephony, Social Science Research Council, Sri Lanka, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, telecom services, telephony, Yahoo Tech Group.
AFP: Asia remembers tsunami victims three years on
Also in Indonesia, a dramatic drill simulating a tsunami strike was held in Java’s coastal province of Banten involving around 9,000 residents, local television reported.
The simulation, designed to test a tsunami warning system gradually being rolled out, saw hundreds of students, along with residents clutching children, rush to higher ground assailed by wailing sirens.
“This country is vulnerable to tsunami threats. Let us pray to God for this country to be kept safe from tsunamis,” President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said after observing the exercise.
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LIRNEasia Lead Economist Harsha de Silva was invited to be the Consultant to a recent Expert Group Meeting on the Provision of ICT Access for Disadvantaged Communities through Public-Private Partnerships conducted by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission fro Asia and the Pacific [ESCAP]. A number of influential policy makers and academics from the region participated at the meeting held between 12-14 December in Bangkok. Harsha set the stage for the expert group meeting by preparing a draft background paper and made a concluding presentation incorporating many of LIRNEasia research findings across the region. Harsha emphasized the need for policies to bridge the market efficiency gap in ICT access through better and conducive regulation and advocated innovative PPPs for bridging identified access gaps in rural BOP segment.
Find the draft background paper…
ICT for Disaster Management: Thoughts on the APDIP e-primer by Chanuka Wattegama « ICT for Peacebuilding (ICT4Peace)
ICT for Disaster Management, written by Chanuka Wattegama, follows the excellent tradition of e-primers published by the Asia Pacific Development Information Programme (APDIP). In sum, as with all e-primers, this is an extremely useful publication for the non-expert to grasp the potential of and challenges to the use of Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) in the prevention, mitigation, preparedness of disasters.
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Two publications, with chapters by LIRNEasia researcher Chanuka Wattegama, were launched during the GK3, third global Knowledge conferences held in Kuala Lumpur in December, 2007.
The biennial Digital Review of Asia Pacific is a comprehensive guide to the state-of-practice and trends in information and communication technologies for development (ICT4D) in Asia Pacific. The third edition (2007/2008) covers 31 countries and economies, including North Korea for the first time. Each country chapter presents key ICT policies, applications and initiatives for national development. In addition, five thematic chapters provide a synthesis of some of the key issues in ICT4D in the region, including mobile and wireless technologies, risk communication, intellectual property regimes and localization.
Communicating Disasters: An Asia Pacific Resource Book, co-published by TVE Asia Pacific and the UNDP, brings together 21…
Tags: Arthur C. Clarke, Asia, Asia-Pacific, Chanuka Wattegama, communication technologies, communications disasters, Frederick Noronha, Indian Ocean, Kuala Lumpur, Nalaka Gunawardene, North Korea, the Indian Ocean tsunami, the third anniversary of the Indian Ocean tsunami of De, wireless technologies.
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