UN Draws Attention
To Broadband Divide
The
United Nations has drawn growing gap between developed and
developing countries use of broadband internet access.
According to a UN
report, their exists a "dramatic broadband divide between
developed and developing countries.
The report on
global information and communications technologies found that
Africa has only one fixed broadband subscriber for every 1,000
people.
Score Card
In comparison,
Europe has about 200 subscribers per 1,000 people. In addition,
the relative price for ICT services, especially broadband, is
highest in Africa, the region with the lowest income levels.
While it is hoped
that mobile broadband could help bridge the divide, there are
still very few mobile broadband subscriptions in Africa.
The report predicts
that mobile subscriptions will reach 4.6 billion worldwide by
the end of the year.
Mobile phone
penetration in developing countries is ten years behind that of
Sweden.
Panos/ Qasim/ Austeen/ Ahaziah
