Abstract
Many developing countries must rely on shared-access models to ensure affordable connectivity and use of ICT tools (UNCTAD, 2003; Fillip and Foote, 2007). Community telecenters (also known as public Internet access points or PIAP, information centers, kiosks, cybercafé, and multipurpose telecenters) have increasingly become critical components of broader strategies to deliver universal access and extend connectivity to rural, disadvantaged, and remote areas in developing and transitional countries. Even more importantly, telecenters are emerging as vital development and poverty reduction platforms. They can serve as means to deliver government services to poor and rural regions, provide vital information and new business opportunities for SMEs, and enable community-driven development through enhancing participation and capacity building at the grassroots level.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
For example, in the past, telecenters in rural areas relied either on fixed-line or VSAT technology, which implied significant connectivity costs for these telecenters. Emergence of wireless fidelity (WiFi) provided a potentially powerful tool to narrow the digital divide and bolster economic development in rural areas. WiFi provides broadband Internet access to specially outfitted PCs within certain distance from the transmitter. WiFi presents many advantages that make it a suitable solution to support connectivity. WiFi is comparatively cheap (less than US$ 250 for a small installation), fast and reliable, easy to install and has low maintenance requirements. With the use of WiFi, it is possible to share the VSAT link among several telecenters in a region, thereby achieving economies of scale and reducing cost per telecenter. It operates on unlicensed airwave spectrum, so there are no extra monthly costs on top of the charge for a broadband connection that is shared among the users.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2010 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Hanna, N.K. (2010). Shared Access for the Networked Society. In: Transforming Government and Building the Information Society. Innovation, Technology, and Knowledge Management. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1506-1_8
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1506-1_8
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4419-1505-4
Online ISBN: 978-1-4419-1506-1
eBook Packages: Business and EconomicsBusiness and Management (R0)