Telecom infrastructure sharing

About: Telecom infrastructure sharing is a(n) research topic. Over the lifetime, 442 publication(s) have been published within this topic receiving 2727 citation(s).

Village Pay Phones and Poverty Reduction: Insights from a Grameen Bank Initiative in Bangladesh

Abstract: The intent of the present study is to evaluate the role of telecommunications within the contexts of rural development in general and of poverty reduction in particular. Bangladesh has been selected as a case study due to the uniqueness it displayed in an innovative program for expanded telecom infrastructure, in which Grameen Bank (GB) of Bangladesh, the village-based micro-finance organization, leased cellular mobile phones to successful members. GB calls these phones Village Pay Phones (VPPs). The effects of VPPs are assessed from two angles:sellers of services (telephone lessees/owners) and buyers of services (villagers). The findings of the study lead to two basic conclusions: first, pursuance of pragmatic policies can turn telephones into production goods, especially through lowering transaction costs, and second, the services originating from telephones in villages are likely to deliver significant benefits to the poor. VPPs also seems to have perceptible and positive effects on the empowerment and social status of phone-leasing women and their households. For villagers in general, phones offer additional non-economic benefits such as improved law enforcement, more rapid and effective communications during disasters, stronger kinship bonding, etc. GB’s style of managing communications can help significantly to expand access to this vital information input for all segments of the population, reduce inequality and thus enhance the broad-based, pro-poor orientation of rural development activities.

The Transformational Use of Information and Communication Technologies in Africa

Abstract: This new flagship report for the eTransform Africa Project, produced by the World Bank and the African Development Bank, with the support of the African Union, identifies best practice in the use of Information and communication technologies (ICTs) in key sectors of the African economy. Under the theme transformation-ready, the growing contribution of ICTs to agriculture, climate change adaptation, education, financial services, government services, and health is explored. In addition, the report highlights the role of ICTs in enhancing African regional trade and integration as well as the need to build a competitive ICT industry to boost innovation, job creation, and the export potential of African companies.

Infrastructure and rural development: insights from a Grameen Bank village phone initiative in Bangladesh

Abstract: The intention of the present paper is to evaluate the role of telecommunications within the contexts of rural development in general and of poverty reduction in particular. Bangladesh has been selected as a case study due to the uniqueness it displayed in an innovative program for expanded telecom infrastructure, in which Grameen Bank (GB) of Bangladesh, the village-based micro-finance organisation, leased cellular mobile phones to successful members. GB calls these phones village pay phones (VPPs). The effects of VPPs are assessed from two angles: sellers of services (telephone lessees/owners) and buyers of services (villagers). The findings of the study lead to two basic conclusions: first, pursuance of pragmatic policies can turn telephones into production goods, especially through lowering transaction costs, and second, the services originating from telephones in villages are likely to deliver (even) more benefits to the poor than to the non-poor. The VPPs also seem to have perceptible and positive effects on the empowerment and social status of phone-leasing women and their households. For villagers in general, phones offer additional non-economic benefits such as improved law enforcement, more rapid and effective communications during disasters, stronger kinship bonding, etc. GB’s style of managing communications can help significantly to expand access to this vital information input for all segments of the population, reduce inequality and thus enhance the broad-based, pro-poor orientation of rural development activities.

Smart-Phone Attacks and Defenses

Abstract: Internet has been permeating into every corner of the world and every aspect of our lives, empowering us with anywhere, anytime remote access and control over information, personal communications (eg, through smart-phones), and our environment (eg, through the use of sensors, actuators, and RFIDs) While enabling interoperation with the Internet brings tremendous opportunities in service creation and information access, the security threat of the Internet also dauntingly extends its reach In this paper, we wish to alarm the community that the long-realized risk of interoperation with the Internet is becoming a reality: Smart-phones, interoperable between the telecom networks and the Internet, are dangerous conduits for Internet security threats to reach the telecom infrastructure The damage caused by subverted smart-phones could range from privacy violation and identity theft to emergency call center DDoS attacks and national crises We also describe defense solution space including smart-phone hardening approaches, Internet-side defense, telecom-side defense, and coordination mechanisms that may be needed between the Internet and telecom networks Much of this space is yet to be explored

Telecom reform: progress and prospects

Abstract: The dominant activity in telecom reform is now shifting from policy development to implementation. This is a more difficult task that depends heavily on competent, independent regulation in both developed and developing countries. A speed up in the remaining steps to complete full institutional restructuring is needed, including clarification of the roles for national and regional regulation and for international governance. New national regulators must rapidly establish transparent participatory processes and decision criteria to minimise uncertainty and enhance credibility. Experience to date indicates that competition in reality may be a more limited instrument of policy than it has been in theory, and the goal of a global universal service will remain elusive unless given a higher priority in policy and practice. Telecom reform is leading to increasing integration of telecom with other sectors of the economy, and telecom policy with broader economic and social policy. Telecom networks are providing the foundation of information infrastructures, which in turn are rapidly becoming an indispensable component of the 21st century knowledge infrastructures. For the future, telecom policy and regulation must facilitate knowledge network development in new knowledge-based economies and societies. This raises a question of whether telecom regulation should assume a more proactive role in facilitating new network service applications, especially in the public sector.