OER ACHIEVEMENTS, CHALLENGES, AND NEW OPPORTUNITIES
access devices as needed. As a figure of merit, the estimated network capital investment required to cover all rural communities in a one million inhabitant province of Vietnam comes to $2.50 per person, and the bandwidth cost (for VSAT links that provide up to 2 Mbps per rural community) is less than $1 per year per rural household. These figures are a factor of twenty below the conventional wisdom for rural connectivity costs. However, it is important to point out that they depend on a policy environment with allocated frequencies for VSAT or Wi-Max, with free Wi-Fi spectrum, and with VOIP legally permitted, which is not yet the case in many developing countries. But if this model gains traction, or if mobile network coverage expands further into rural areas while evolving as described above, then broadband access in many rural areas may well become feasible within five years.
It may be useful to put the specific discussion above in a slightly broader context. Recent research on household expenditure patterns in low-income communities being conducted by the World Resources Institute and the International Finance Corporation (World Bank Group) makes clear that there is substantial purchasing power in low-income communities, over $5 trillion worldwide, aggregated across four billion people. Moreover, ICT expenditures are found at nearly all income levels, and rise sharply as incomes rise; in fact, expenditures on ICT rise proportionately more than expenditures in any other sector, perhaps reflecting awareness that access to connectivity boosts welfare and productivity. An Economist cover story in 2005 reported on research documenting the social impact of mobile communications in low-income communities in Africa, in finding work, in getting medical attention or other help in emergencies, in keeping far-flung families (of migrant workers) in contact, and in substituting for expensive and time-consuming transportation, among others impacts. Over the past ten years, ICT (and especially mobile telephony) has emerged as one of the few clear successes in helping alleviate poverty and accelerate economic and social development.[1]
Some implications for education. Driven in part by security concerns, automated translation is improving very rapidly, which could help make educational content (including audiovisual content) available in local languages at less cost. Secondly, the availability and ease of use of images and voice, as opposed to text, other than short messaging, on mobile phones suggests that expanded use of these media to deliver educational experiences should be strongly considered. Thirdly, the rapid evolution of online gaming, and its evident appeal to youth in developing countries (it is becoming an important source of revenue for cyber cafe operators, even in rural parts of developing countries), suggests that participatory educational modules based on gaming technology would gain rapid acceptance. And finally, as suggested above,
- ↑ The Next 4 Billion: Market Size and Business Strategy at the Base of the Pyramid, World Resources Institute and IFC, forthcoming 1st quarter 2007.
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