Tag Archives: Latin America
Applications now open for LIRNEasia Young Scholar Tutorials, hosted by NUS, Singapore. Click here for info on how to apply.
Nokia sales drop, but not too much in Asia
Nokia, the leading mobile handset maker, is experiencing the effects of the global economic crisis. But Asia is showing the lowest declines.
In the three months through March, the company said its profit declined to 122 million euros ($162.3 million) from 1.2 billion euros a year earlier. Sales fell 27 percent, to 9.3 billion euros from 12.7 billion euros.
The number of cellphones sold fell 45 percent in Latin America, 31 percent in North America and 27 percent in Africa and the Middle East. Elsewhere, the pace of decline was more moderate — 13 percent in Europe, 15 percent in China and 17.3 percent in the rest of Asia.
Nokia reiterated its expectation that industry sales would decline 10 percent this year from 2008.
Full story here.
Cuba lifts mobile phone ban
Cubans are to be allowed unrestricted access to mobile phones for the first time, in the latest reform announced under new President Raul Castro. In a statement in official newspaper Granma, state telecom monopoly ETECSA said it would offer mobile services to the public in the next few days.
Some Cubans already own mobile phones, but they have had to acquire them via a third party, often foreigners.
Cuba’s rate of cell phone usage remains among the lowest in Latin America.
Now Cubans will be able to subscribe to pre-paid mobile services under their own names, instead of going through foreigners or in some cases their work places. However, the new service must be paid for in foreign currency, which will restrict access to wealthier Cubans.
Read the full story in BBC here.
Latin American and Asian mobile prices and methodologies compared
Mobile Benchmark Studies in South Asia and Latin America | L I R N E . N E T
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.
TRE in Latin America
DIRSI – Regional Dialogue on the Information Society – Telecom Regulatory Environment (TRE) Assessment Series Using interviews and a questionnaire administered to a statistically significant cross-section of industry stakeholders and experts, the TRE assessment traverses six dimensions of regulatory risk (market entry, access to scarce resources, interconnection, tariff regulation, regulation of anti-competitive practice and universal service) for both the fixed and mobile sectors.
The TRE methodology focuses on the environment as a whole, rather than only on the regulatory agency. This broadens the scope and usefulness of the study to different actors.
DIRSI and LIRNE.NET are currently undertaking TRE studies in Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador. The Latin American TRE researchers are using the beta version of a TRE Toolkit developed by LIRNEasia – and making suggestions for its improvement and development, especially from a cross-cultural perspective.
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LIRNEasia at GK3, 11-13 December 2007, Kuala Lumpur
LIRNEasia researchers will be among panelists at the 3rd Global Knowledge Conference organized by Global Knowledge Partnership (GKP).
Two sessions will be based on the LIRNEasia’s study on Teleuse at the Bottom of the Pyramid (BOP), which is to presented in the form of an interactive quiz show. The background paper is available here.
A session titled ‘Making Communities Disaster Resilient’, hopes to highlight issues related to developing a robust solution for strengthening community resilience in the face of natural disasters. The background paper is available here.
LIRNE researchers will also be among panelists at a session on regulatory transparency and effectiveness. The session, entitled ‘Hello Regulator’, hopes to explore how having easy access to regulatory information and processes can support community and public agendas, access to ICT and so forth.
Click here for further information available on the GKP website.
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PDF versions of related background papers from other regions can be accessed here:
Genderstanding Mobile Telephony: Women, Men and their Use of Cellular Phones in Jamaica. (DIRSI)
Mobile Opportunities: Poverty and Telephony Access in Latin America and the Caribbean. (DIRSI)
Towards an African ICT e-Index: Towards evidence based ICT policy ..read more
Colloquium on streamlining the LIRNE network websites
LIRNEasia decided to use a blog as its website rather than a conventional website. Website has done well so far; about 3,000 comments so far.
Some issues of importance: Front page changes every two days, due to number of posts. Scrolling nature means that sometimes the most important topics do not remain at the top for long. Weaknesses concerning retrieval of documents (unless you know exactly where it is).
Proposed structure: Our website should be designed to meet Asia Pacific needs. Anything that does not fall under that purview will be handled by the other websites in the network.
The Drum Beat on Mobile telephony
The Drum Beat is a weekly electronic publication exploring initiatives, ideas and trends in communication for development, published by The Communication Initiative. This week’s issue (# 399) focuses on mobile telephony, and is relevant for planning LIRNEasia’s next research cycle. Some of the articles include: Pocket Answer to Digital Divide (Jo Twist) Telecommunications: A Dynamic Revolution (David White) New Trends in Mobile Communications in Latin America (Judith Mariscal and Eugenio Rivera) From Matatu to the Masai via Mobile (by Paul Mason) Wireless Communication and Development in the Asia-Pacific: Institutions Matter (Rohan Samarajiva) The Real Digital Diversity (Seán Ó Siochrú) Must Haves: Cellphones Top Iraqi Cool List (Damien Cave) UK Children Go Online: Final Report of Key Project Findings (Sonia Livingstone and Magdalena Bober) Read more on The Drum Beat
Wireless Opportunities and Solutions: A Regulatory Perspective; Montevideo, Uruguay, March 2007
Dr. Harsha de Silva participated in the LIRNE.NET and WDR expert meeting entitled “Wireless Opportunities and Solutions: A Regulatory Perspective” held in Montevideo, Uruguay during 7-9 March 2007.
He made a presentation during the first session entitled “Getting a clearer picture: Demand side ICT data collection”, sharing with the audience some of the findings and the methodology used in LIRNEasia’s recently completed research on teleuse@BOP. During the discussion sessions and on the sidelines of the conference he engaged substantially with the DIRSI researchers planning to replicate the Asian study in Latin America. Dr. de Silva explained to the team the challenges faced in designing and implementing the study across the five countries and suggested possible alternatives.
In the second session entitled “Perspectives of telecom sector performance” he presented slides on the Telecom Regulatory Environment (TRE) 2006. Here Harsha explained how LIRNEasia researchers went about constructing and administering the TRE study in six countries in Asia and also some of the salient findings.
After the conference Dr. de Silva participated at the discussions among the LIRNE family on the preparations of the next WDR/LIRNE research cycle. Prof. Rohan Samarajiva joined in via Skype.
Click HERE for more ..read more
Latin American Operators Target Bottom of the Pyramid (BoP)
The battle for mobile customers in Latin America is hotting up as 319 million Latin Americans or 56% of the population already own a mobile phone. Telefonica of Spain and America Movil controlled by Mexican businessman Carlos Slim are going head-to-head to expand their market-share in South America and are increasingly targeting the “bottom of the pyramid.”
The Race for Numero Uno in Latin Wireless (Businessweek November 27, 2006):
More than 80% of Brazil’s mobile-telephone customers use prepaid service—buying cards to recharge their phones—rather than signing monthly contracts. América Móvil’s average client uses just 71 minutes of airtime each month, spending around $12.50. Although such revenue can add up, signing up all those customers has an impact on profits as well. “The two big operators have had to become more competitive in pricing to win customers,” he says. “They’re trying to build economies of scale to decrease their costs, but even as they’re doing that, their revenue per subscriber is decreasing.”
As América Móvil and Telefónica battle it out, the big winners are Latin American consumers, who have seen the cost of handsets and airtime drop significantly over the past five years. ..read more
Training Course in Telecom Reform: Strategies to achieve connectivity and convergence
An executive course on telecom regulation, including World Dialogue on Regulation Expert Forum on Sector and Regulatory Performance Indicators Offered by LIRNEasia and CONNECTasia Forum Pte. Ltd. February 25th – March 3rd, 2007. Changi Village Hotel, Singapore
The 2007 course is designed to enhance the strategic thinking of a select group of senior decision makers in the telecom and related sectors in the Asia Pacific and elsewhere. The focus will be on the most current strategic issues.
FDI bad for developing countries?
Our colleagues from Latin America have drawn our attention to the following article, perhaps because they think that our TRE (telecom regulatory environment) work is premised on FDI being an unmitigated good.
We welcome the opportunity for a debate.
Abstract “In the 1990s, foreign direct investment (FDI) came to be seen as a “miracle drug”—a jumpstart to economic growth and sustainable industrial development, especially in developing countries. Policies to attract FDI became the centerpiece of both national development strategies and supra-national investment agreements.
This paper examines case study and statistical evidence about the impacts of FDI in developing countries on economic growth, technology spillovers and environmental performance. Mirroring the heterogeneity of developing countries, we find that there is no consistent relationship: the impact of FDI on each variable has been found to be positive, neutral, or even negative. Key variables are domestic policies, capacities and institutions.
We conclude that the purported benefits of FDI are exaggerated and its centrality in development strategies misplaced. Rather than attract FDI per se, development policies should aim to promote endogenous local capacities for sustainable production. With the right national and global ..read more
WDR Expert Forum, Singapore September 30, 2005
Diversifying Participation in Network Development The 2005 WDR research theme, Diversifying Participation in Network Development explores the evolving strategies used to extend the telecom network primarily to rural, high-cost areas. The objective of this cutting edge research is to identify successful strategies that can be replicated in other countries and to avoid unsuccessful ones. Light will be shed on these innovative approaches, looking at key experience to capture the range of possible sources, types and methods of investment funding for network development. The research is currently being developed by the WDR research community in Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America. Who should attend?
Executives from telecom operators and equipment suppliers interested in innovative ideas that can be applied in developing as well as developed country settings. Policy makers, regulators, researchers and professionals interested in cutting edge ICT policy researchDownload course brochure
(PDF) Download course registration (Word Document) Download course registration (PDF)The research that will be discussed includes:
A multi-country study to understand the telecom strategies of the poor covering 3200 respondents in India and Sri Lanka as well as a meta-study of ..read moreLIRNE Course on Telecom Reform
On behalf of LIRNEasia, LIRNE.NET and the School of Communication and Information at the Nanyang Technological University, it is our pleasure to extend to you a special invitation to participate in the 7th LIRNE.NET course on Telecom Reform in Singapore, September 25-30, 2005. The course, Catalyzing change: Strategies to achieve connectivity and convergence, is designed to enhance the strategic thinking of a select group of senior decision makers in the telecom and related sectors in Asia and elsewhere. Previous Telecom Reform courses have been offered in Africa, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean. This is the first time one is being offered in Asia.
The focus will be more on the most current strategic issues than on nuts and bolts knowledge. A day will be set apart for discussion of cutting-edge research on diverse approaches to network extension commissioned as part of the 2005-06 World Dialogue on Regulation. An opportunity will also be provided to visit the InfoComm Development Authority of Singapore, a leading regulatory agency that has been recognized for its efficacy internationally.
Attendance at Telecom Reform courses is capped at 40. Attendees will include regulators and senior officials of regulatory agencies; senior regulatory staff at operators; ..read more
LIRNE at ICT4D and higher education conference
Conference on Higher Education, Information Technology and Sustainable Development: The central role of universities in building knowledge societies in Asia, Africa and Latin America, January 10-14, 2005, De La Salle University, Manila, Philippines
I was invited to this event, I think, primarily because of the perception of LIRNE.NET as a university-based, effective organization for applying knowledge to problems of ICT4D. The presentation that I made was entitled LIRNE.NET: ICT4D with or without universities” (Manila Presentation), which should give a clue about what I think of the role of Asian universities in this task.
The conference was attended by enthusiastic academics (majority), NGO representatives seeking more support from universities, and education administrators. What should perhaps have been framed as questionsDo the universities have a role in the emerging knowledge societies? If they do have a role, what is it? What can be done to improve things if there is no role or the existing roles are unsatisfactory were seen as already answered as indicated by the conference title: the central role of universities in building knowledge societies. But I am sure everyone learned something; I did.
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