AudiencScapes

The country’s recent political and economic crises mean that Zimbabwe has
been late to experiment with advances in technology. This is finally changing,
as suggested by the recent introduction of mobile money products. Institutions
are clamoring to launch products to profit from this untapped market.

A drop in the price of mobile handsets and the arrival of the fiber optic network in Zimbabwe caused an enormous expansion in the use of mobile phones. With the launch of mobile braodband services, Zimbabwe is undergoing dramatic changes in how people communicate and do business. Chief K. Masimba Biriwasha reports...

Mobile number portability launched this month in Kenya. As the telecom industry worries about the impact on its bottom line, mobile subscribers should now have more choices than ever. AudienceScapes fellow Dinfin Mulupi reports.......

A new effort by the Indian government to monitor electronic communications has gained international attention. Critics warn that it could dampen innovation. Gayatri Murthy looks at the argument that a more restrictive environment might hamper ICT advances that have often helped development goals as much as the individual corporations’ bottom line. By Gayatri Murthy The Indian government may be on the brink of slowing down its information technology revolution by dramatically increasing electronic surveillance in an effort to prevent terrorist attacks. Critics warn that the country risks alienating the very businesses that have fueled the development of technological innovation.

By Giovanna MonteverdeSenior Project Manager for Latin America, InterMedia3 March 2010(Bogota, Colombia)-- In the last three years, the Colombian capital has seen the emergence of an informal street market for mobile phone minutes. At nearly every corner or shopping mall, you can see vendors selling mobile minutes alongside their typical offerings of cigarettes, candies and chips. This informal market has allowed many more people, especially from low-income neighborhoods, to have access to and use mobile phones when they are needed. I have been to nearly every major city in Latin America recently, and this is the only place where I have seen such a system operating. It seemed to begin about three or four years ago when mobile phone plans became very accessible.