Delivery of broadband services to SubSaharan Africa via Nigerian communications satellite

Africa is the least wired continent in the world in terms of robust telecommunications infrastructure and systems to cater for its more than one billion people. African nations are mostly still in the early stages of Information Communications Technology (ICT) development as verified by the relatively low ICT Development Index (IDI) values of all countries in the African region. In developing nations, mobile broadband subscriptions and penetration between 2000-2009 was increasingly more popular than fixed broadband subscriptions. To achieve the goal of universal access, with rapid implementation of ICT infrastructure to complement the sparsely distributed terrestrial networks in the hinterlands and leveraging the adequate submarine cables along the African coastline, African nations and their stakeholders are promoting and implementing Communication Satellite systems, particularly in Nigeria, to help bridge the digital hiatus. This paper examines the effectiveness of communication satellites in delivering broadband-based services

Changing ICT Rankings of African Nations

After years of being an information and communication technology laggard relative to other developing regions of the world, Africa has been pushed to the forefront in a new information revolution, thanks to mobile communications. This period has also witnessed considerable mobility in the information and communication technology rankings of different African nations. This article examines changes in the information and communication technology rankings of different African nations and concludes that, as an analytical framework, the “digital divide” does not accurately describe what is happening on the continent and may lead to policy choices that are harmful to Africa’s future

The Future of Mobile Industry

This paper discusses the future of mobile industry along with some of the background leading to the emergence of wireless technology. First, it gives an overview of today’s telecommunication network and the major differences between fixed wired networks and wireless networks. The discussion then focuses on the challenges facing the wireless industry and the way out through aggressive innovation by employing Wireless Intelligence Network (WIN) technology. The paper also discusses some important trends in wireless industry and the customers expectations which are also part of the challenges for the mobile industry. Finally particular reference is made to the developing nations especially Nigeria in the ongoing trends in mobile communication industry

Information and Communication Technology: Gender Issues in Developing Nations

As Developing Nations seek to leverage scarce resources toward the goal of achieving a developed status they must reevaluate past practices and explore available and affordable technologies. Where in-formation and communication infrastructures are weak, use of low-cost, easily distributed technologies have proven effective. Still, many developing nations have failed to incorporate a resource in great abundance, their women, to use these new technologies to greatest advantage. This paper will address the implications of women's lack of economic and educational parity, and offer examples of how the education of women through the use of information and communication technology can enhance a nation's gross domestic product (GDP)

Challenges Facing Adoption of Information Communication Technology in African Universities

A significant number of the universities and higher educational institutions have adopted the latest technology and implemented it productively, for the development of skilled human resource in respective area of specialization, as part of their responsibility. Information and communication Technology (ICT) has grown tremendously around the globe particularly in the developed nations of the world. This growth however appears to be relatively slower in the developing nations including African nations. The Partnership for Higher Education in Africa in a recent workshop survey indicated that while some governments have produced national policies on ICT, many others are yet to do so. As such, the most asked questions  is; what are the challenges that hinder African universities to become efficient and effective in use of ICT as compared to developed nations. Keywords: ICT, universities, adoption, learnin

The macroeconomic effect of the information and communication technology in Hungary

It was not until the beginning of the 1990s that the effects of information and communication technology on economic growth as well as on the profitability of enterprises raised the interest of researchers. After giving a general description on the relationship between a more intense use of ICT devices and dynamic economic growth, the author identified and explained those four channels that had a robust influence on economic growth and productivity. When comparing the use of information technonology devices in developed as well as in developing countries, the author highlighted the importance of the available additional human capital and the elimination of organizational inflexibilities in the attempt of narrowing the productivity gap between the developed and developing nations. By processing a large quantitiy of information gained from Hungarian enterprises operating in several economic sectors, the author made an attempt to find a strong correlation between the development level of using ICT devices and profitability together with total factor productivity. Although the impact of using ICT devices cannot be measured unequivocally at the microeconomic level because of certain statistical and methodological imperfections, by applying such analytical methods as cluster analysis and correlation and regression calculation, the author managed to prove that both the correlation coefficient and the gradient of the regression trend line showed a positive relationship between the extensive use of information and communication technology and the profitability of enterprises

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Developments and Policy in Governance

Information and Communications Technology (ICT) has been an enhancement for political, social, economic and any form of development that takes place in developed nations. Nearly all services being rendered by private and public sectors as role players in governance are used to deliver qualitative services through ICT and since these tools have undeniable proofs, they are being used to reinforce governance in most countries. Since the benefits are obvious and too visible to be ignored, developing nations have also plugged to its use for governance. Most developing nations aspire to realize their vision of joining the league of global economic giants in the year 2020. Good governance with ICT as a core pilot will pave the way for the accomplishment of such vision. Without mincing word, the paper maintained that ICT contributes to good governance. This paper presents ICT development and policy in governance. The taxonomy of ICT developments and policies in government, security, education, recruitment, etc., and ICT benefits in governance were also considered. It was therefore recommended in the paper that individuals or groups from different sectors especially in developing nations should strive to make Information and Communication technology a reality to individuals at reduced and convenient cost for easy accessibility. Keywords: ICT, governance, development, polic

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY PAYBACK AND EFFECTIVENESS IN DEVELOPPING COUNTRIES

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) needs considerable financial resources. In fact, the ICT environment in developing countries is different from that of the developed countries in many aspects. These differences make the impact of an ICT project failure more harmful than that of a developed country especially at the economic level where financial resources are limited. Organizations in developing countries that attempt ICT transfer often face severe obstacles that hinder their ability to achieve payback from their investment. To understand why this happens requires an investigation into the dynamics between each organization and its environmental context and how that translates into systems that are less than useful. The purpose of this paper is to make the case that ICT payback is difficult to achieve in developing nations unless careful attention is paid to alignment issues in the process of technology transfer, especially issues related to the impact of the environment on alignment. In this paper we present an ICT payback model for developing nations from managers’ perspective and then validate it as useful in two ways: that it can be used to explain mismanagement of ICT in developing nations and in its use for the prevention and correction of problems in ICT projects. The model can be very useful for explaining why technology transfer efforts often fail. We developed the ICT management context payback model after extending the integration of previous research on alignment and payback failure, by adding new factors extracted from case studies in developing countries

e-Mahtari – Improving Maternal Healthcare in Rural India through Information and Communication Technologies

People living in rural areas in developing nations have limited access to quality healthcare. According to a recent United Nations report, most developing nations will not reach their millennium development goals related to maternal and child care. Lack of infrastructure creates a challenge in deploying information and communication technologies (ICT) to extend the reach of healthcare to rural areas. This study reports on a successful implementation of a low cost innovative mobile phone-based health information system to improve maternal and child care in rural India. A case study research method was used with the Practice Lens providing the theoretical framework for the investigation. The findings enrich the ICT for development (ICT4D) literature, and inform health policy makers and technology designers interested in creating innovative solutions to healthcare problems in resource-starved regions of the world

Contribution of ICT to the Chinese Economic Growth

The view about systematic irrationality of investors and managers in investment with reference to information and communication technology (ICT) with no effects on productivity growth is called productivity paradox. Research suggests that ICT return in developed nations is significant and positive, but not in developing countries. This paper challenges the above conclusion by examining the contribution of ICT to the Chinese economic growth. We investigate the relationship between TFP growth and ICT capital and provide estimation of the returns to ICT investment. The contribution of ICT to economic growth has not been studied earlier for the developing countries like China. The empirical results suggest that China has reaped the benefits of ICT investment. The policy implications for the Chinese ICT investment and development are also discussed. The results add to our understanding of how ICT affects growth in the context of economic development.Productivity paradox; ICT; economic development; TFP growth; China