A recent newspaper ad announced that while it took 100
years to put telephones in the hands of a billion people, it is taking only five
years to reach the next billion. This is a good example of how fast the world is
changing and how quickly the telecommunications industry is moving. Oct. 13, 1999 The Full Story
For many telecommunications companies, the key to the
future is diversity. That means offering customers a range of options - from
Internet access to traditional long-distance service. Oct. 13, 1999 The Full Story
Pity the poor techno-frog. On the back of this metaphorical
amphibian has been laid the burden of catch-up for developing countries. The
world's least-advantaged nations are being exhorted to ''leapfrog'' their way to
postindustrial development through the wonders of new technology. In fact, a lot
of the rhetoric is true. Oct. 13, 1999 The Full Story
The rapid introduction of Internet cafés, wired schools,
electronic libraries and other on-line facilities is gradually bringing every
aspect of the world to an increasingly vast number of fingertips. Oct. 13, 1999 The Full Story
Today's surge in interest in Voice over Internet Protocol
(VoIP) solutions hangs on a pair of strict provisos: that quality of service is
king and that quality of service is something the public Internet cannot yet
deliver. Oct. 13, 1999 The Full Story
Earlier this year, it looked as if a fundamental
disagreement between competing mobile manufacturers over next-generation
standards could spark a trans-Atlantic trade war. Oct. 13, 1999 The Full Story
Although much of the population in heavily indebted poor
countries still lives in poverty, and there continues to be a considerable
communications gap between rich and poor nations, almost every emerging society
has made it a priority to participate in the global information society. Oct. 13, 1999 The Full Story
The expansion of wireless telephone communications in the
Middle East and North Africa is being accompanied by a proliferation of new
television and radio channels beamed to the region via satellite. Viewers are
welcoming the wider choice of international news and information, just as they
are lining up to take advantage of the state-of-the-art mobile connections that
a host of new private companies are now providing. Oct. 13, 1999 The Full Story
Early one morning last July, a van laden with ready-made
garments - one of Bangladesh's top exports - careened off the highway on its way
from Dhaka, the capital, to the southeastern port of Chittagong and plunged into
a roadside ditch. Luckily, the driver and his colleague survived. But they faced
one problem: If they left the van to look for help from the nearest police
station, they would risk the looting of the consignment. Fortunately, they were
carrying a mobile phone that enabled them to contact their head office in Dhaka,
which quickly sent in reinforcements to rescue the van as well as its cargo. Oct. 13, 1999 The Full Story
In emerging markets around the globe, the participation of
both the public and private sectors is a key element in the process of improving
telecommunications infrastructure and ''wiring'' millions more people into the
on-line world. Oct. 13, 1999 The Full Story
While big multinational satellite-phone players like
Iridium and ICO try to recoup their losses amid Chapter 11 readministration
filings in the United States, a regional player, the Thuraya Satellite
Communications Corp., is promising mobile phone connections for an area covering
40 percent of the world's population. Its access to substantial capital from
Middle Eastern equity shareholders is helping it to weather the financial storms
encountered by its international rivals, as is its initiative in signing up
national service providers, which are seeking to provide mobile phone services
at low development costs. Oct. 13, 1999 The Full Story
Mobile phone providers in the Middle East are reaching out
to a customer base that needs both to travel internationally and access
multimedia communications from remote areas often lacking even the most basic
fixed lines. Oct. 13, 1999 The Full Story
Is there a place for small businesses in the digital
economy, or will they be destroyed by the crippling costs of carving out a
presence in cyberspace? Oct. 13, 1999 The Full Story
The ongoing global expansion of a high-tech
telecommunications infrastructure, coupled with the increased availability of
advanced information technology services, is having an impact on almost every
emerging economy. The projects range from ''intelligent'' cities in Malaysia and
on-line telephone directories in El Salvador to national data networks in Ghana
and cellular telephony in a country as poor as Rwanda. Oct. 13, 1999 The Full Story
In announcing the introduction of its mobile and fixed
telephone service at Telecom 99 on Monday, Globalstar hopes to avoid the fate of
Iridium, another satellite phone service heralded at Telecom four years ago. Oct. 13, 1999 The Full Story