Mobile Phones Help Developing Nations

The mobile phone, along with Net access, is helping to narrow the digital divide between rich and poor countries, according to a UN report.

The annual Information Economy report by the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has released information showing that the wider availability ofmobile phones and Net access is helping to lessen the divide between rich and poor nations, although it remains a large gap.   The BBC has said that thereport notes that those using mobiles in developing countries now comprise 58% of the total number of mobile users globally. In many rural African communities, the use of mobiles by traders ishelping then obtain better prices for their goods, as well as ensure that less goes to waste.   "In Africa, where the increase in terms of the number of mobile phone subscribers andpenetration has been greatest, this technology can improve the economic life of the population as a whole," the report stated.   The vast uptake of mobiles in these countries is helping thepopulation bypass several generations of technological development.   Also important is the greater use of computers and the Net. In 2006, the agency has said, Net availability in developednations was only six times that of developing nations, as compared to 10 times in 2002.