For countries trying to develop, technological leapfrogging may provide a 'quick fix' or short-cut route
Twentieth-century technology was hard-wired.
Telephones relied on a network of exchanges physically linked by cables
Such networks are time-consuming and costly to build and maintain
Leapfrogging is
possible because
new technologies
are increasingly
wireless and
mobile
Wireless nodes, such as mobile phone masts and solar
power systems, can be built very quickly, almost anywhere
This has allowed efficient, long-distance, digital communication to develop
rapidly in places where before there was no telecommunications system at all
It has eroded the digital divide in some areas
India: A mobile nation
In 1988 India has 22
telephone landlines per
1,000 people, compared with
70 in China, 440 in South
Korea and 554 in the UK
Landlines are expensive
and the wait for a
telephone in India in the
1990s was several years
This was an unacceptable delay for any start-up business
Mobile phone services were introduced in 1994
Since 2000, mobile
phone use has
grown from 3.5
mobiles per 1,000
Indians to 230
By 2007, some 7 million Indians were signing up for mobile phones each month and the number of users doubled from 100 to 200 million in a year
Cheap handsets costing as little as $40
and signing up costs of around $20
Low-price calls and top ups costing as little as 12p
Lack of competition because the landline network was undeveloped
A growing middle class
which has benefited
from outsourced jobs
in call centers and IT
Fake accessories and batteries that cost under $1 (much of rural
India has no electricity)
Bottom-up innovation, such as villagers using car
batteries to charge mobiles where electricity is absent
Major expansion of
networks into the
untapped rural market
(70% of the
population) by Airtel
and Reliance
Communications
Families, many of them split up by rural-urban migration, can stay in touch
Farmers, who used to be isolated, can check prices before going to market to buy fertilisers or sell crops, ensuring they get the best price
Mobile phones have the potential to narrow the digital divide by providing the poor in India with access to the information they need in order to maximise their economic output and minimise their risks
Small busninesses can keep in touch with customers, suppliers and services such as banks
Key information such
as weather forcasts and
hazard warnings can be
sent to farmers and
businesses by SMS