I think William Lester and Fola Odufuwa are pointing out something important--the potential of cellular networks to provide data connectivity inexpensively, if imperfectly. As converged devices proliferate and newer network technologies spread to developing countries, these problems will ease--and in the meantime, the installed user base is more than twice that of the Internet and growing more rapidly. Phones already have the potential to provide secure ID (combining voice and face recognition at the server level), and can serve as powerful transaction platforms (see the current micro-entrepreneur reseller activity with Smart Buddy in the Phillipines.) Whether WiFi-like or cellular solutions are most feasible may depend as much on the regulatory environment (what's legal) and on the openness to innovation in cellular providers.
Allen L. Hammond Vice President for Innovation & Special Projects World Resources Institute 10 G Street NE Washington, DC 20002 USA V (202) 729-7777 F (202) 729-7775 [EMAIL PROTECTED] www.wri.org www.digitaldividend.org ------------ This DOT-COM Discussion is funded by the dot-ORG USAID Cooperative Agreement, and hosted by GKD. http://www.dot-com-alliance.org provides more information. To post a message, send it to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To subscribe or unsubscribe, send a message to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>. In the 1st line of the message type: subscribe gkd OR type: unsubscribe gkd For the GKD database, with past messages: http://www.GKDknowledge.org
