Is wi-fi good for developing nations?

["Irfan Khan" <khania2@super.net.pk>]

27 June, 2003

Is wi-fi good for developing nations?

The wireless web holds much promise for developing nations but 
technology analyst Bill Thompson is concerned about the politics of 
wi-fi.


Campaigning for internet access in developing countries can seem a 
bit of a distraction - the sort of thing that only the 
technologically obsessed would ever care about.

After all, millions of people need clean water, enough food and 
adequate shelter. They are not really going to miss the opportunity 
to send e-mails or surf the web.

But as the global economy comes to depend more and more on the 
internet the digital divide is seen as a serious barrier to economic 
development.

There are also many examples of ways in which net access can help 
people living in poverty, from getting access to weather forecasts to 
enable fishing boats to avoid storms, through to monitoring prices to 
decide when to harvest a crop.

Groups like the G8's Digital Opportunities Task Force, set up in 
2000, have promoted a wide range of projects, and there are a vast 
number of local initiatives, some of which have featured on Go 
Digital, the World Service programme. 

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read complete story at
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/3025490.stm