Re: [-empyre-] Re: developing nations and elitists

[Beverley Hood <bhood@easynet.co.uk>]

I'm not getting into the developing, developed, first, second, third world
etc terminology but when Melinda brought up mobile phone networks over land
based ones I immediately thought of the situation I experience in Hungary in
1997. There was a tremendous uptake of mobile phones then (it felt like more
than Britain at the time - where I am normally based) with seemingly
everyone owning one (more the situation now in Britain). This was in total
contrast to the land based situation where the infrastructure was lacking
and you waited years to get a land line installed (I was told up to about
ten).
Bev


> From: Jun-Ann Lam <jaxal@netspace.net.au>
> Reply-To: empyre@imap.cofa.unsw.edu.au
> Date: Tue, 21 May 2002 14:41:25 +1000
> To: empyre@imap.cofa.unsw.edu.au
> Subject: [-empyre-] Re: developing nations and elitists
> 
> Melinda,
> 
> Could you tell me which developing nations you have in mind? There are vast
> differences between all the developing nations.
> 
> Having an extensive mobile network is a result of a government's agenda and
> budget priorities and these networks amongst other things can exist whilst
> ordinary people in any country including developed/ing nations thrash out a
> living just trying to survive and feed themselves, maybe their kids. You
> will find that few citizens of developing nations can afford mobile phones,
> let alone PDAs or laptops. If many people in these developing nations can
> afford technology, it is because their country has recently become or is on
> the cusp of becoming developed themselves. (read: high GDP, higher incomes
> comparatively - and I'm not talking NY investment banker incomes either.)
> 
> And let's not limit our scope to developing nations. The US, long a
> developed nation, still struggles to connect most of their population. I
> don't know the figures off-hand but the "digital divide" was on the Clinton
> agenda.
> 
> Notwithstanding the problems associated with the terms "developed" and
> "developing" and "first, second and third worlds".
> 
> Of unethical nations who do watch their people starve whilst building
> advanced digital technology ahead of, let's say, sewerage systems and clean
> water, their priorities are often criticised by human rights and ethic
> groups.
> 
> But hey, globalisation is going to save the world right?
> 
> JA
> 
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