How mobile broadband can transform Africa
29 February 2012
CNN - February 27, 2012
Editor's note: Dr Hamadoun Touré is secretary-general of the International Telecommunication Union -- the U.N.'s specialized agency for information and communication technologies.
In the next five years, there are likely to be as many mobile cellular subscriptions as there are people on this planet. By 2020, pundits predict more than 50 billion connected devices.
With seven billion people's needs to serve, information and communications technologies (ICTs) represent the single most powerful channel we have ever had to reach out to others, wherever they may live, whatever their circumstances. They also represent our best hope of accelerating progress towards meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by the target date of 2015.
Hamadoun Toure: Can Africa reach its 2015 MDGs? If countries embrace the unique power of mobile broadband technology, I believe many have a good chance.
Category: ICT