Africa, often seen as a third-world continent, has had dramatic developmental progress with the insertion of mobile phones into the infrastructure. Most mobile devices are the simple, low-end brands, of which tens of millions have already been sold across the continent. As prices drop, the more expensive “smartphones”, such as the Blackberry, have been increasing in popularity, bucking the market trends in North America and Europe. Between the years 2000 and 2010, mobile phone subscriptions for some companies have increased nearly 500-fold. To have a mobile phone in Africa, now, is practically a necessity. Its proliferation into the hands of the populace has leapt over previous technological hurdles of wiring such an expansive continental landmass, providing opportunities to connect without the cost. However, the use of mobile phones in Africa reaches beyond customary practices in North America and Europe; it is much more innovative. Although the list is long, there are four major areas the mobile phone has changed in Africa’s infrastructure; banking, healthcare, agriculture, and education. Banking Mobile banking involves using mobile phones to provide various electronic financial services or to deliver digital cash to customers. It is a separate unique system that has brought banks and mobile phone operators together to address and take advantage of the growing informal cash economy in African countries; a huge and vibrant untapped resource. The increase in mobile phone ownership within the last few years makes this endeavor possible. It does not reflect the typical pay-as-you-go billing account or using airtime minutes, it is another structure entirely that uses the individual SIM card in each mobile phone. Mobile money ... ... middle of paper ... ...Poor Now Have Access to Financial Services." Mobile Money Africa. Mobile Money Africa: Africa's Leading Online Resource For Mobile Financial Inclusion, 2012. Web. 09 Mar. 2014. "Africa: Mobile Phones for Health." IRINnews. UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, n.d. Web. 09 Mar. 2014. Ogunlesi, Tolu, and Stephanie Busari. "Seven Ways Mobile Phones Have Changed Lives in Africa." CNN. Cable News Network, 14 Sept. 2012. Web. 08 Mar. 2014. Saylor, Michael. The Mobile Wave: How Mobile Intelligence Will Change Everything. New York: Vanguard, 2012. 304. Print. Schneider, Suzannah. "Five Ways Cell Phones Are Changing Agriculture in Africa." Food Tank RSS. Food Tank Think Tank, 12 Apr. 2013. Web. 09 Mar. 2014. Vosloo, Steve. "The Future of Education in Africa Is Mobile." Www.bbc.com. BBC Future, 24 Aug. 2012. Web. 09 Mar. 2014.
Uganda, formally known as the Republic of Uganda, is a poverty stricken country plagued with economic instabilities. Since the 1980’s, the economy has remained on a fairly steady climb, but many have doubts about the continuation of growth. Uganda will never achieve a stable economy if they do not establish changes to their infrastructure. To implement these modifications and maintain economic progression, Uganda will need 1) better government determination to end corruption, 2) commitment to improve the weak educational reforms, and 3) a decrease in their export vulnerabilities. Fortunately, the country is experiencing a much needed evolution in telecommunication which could be the single most contributing factor for an improved economy.
Cellphones have become an asset in people's everyday lives. Gone are the days when cellphones are depicted as luxurio...
For example, “in Africa, they are even able to use their phones as mobile banks that allow them to store money, transfer funds, and pay bills.” (Volti 2014). References Volti, Rudi. A. 2014.
When it comes to technology, Africa has almost everything the rest of the world does. Although we may be slightly behind, technology is fast growing on the continent. For instance, Africa is the fastest region when it comes to mobile growth. It is estimated that over 67% of the population on the continent have mobile phones, and 27% have a device that can access the internet. Simply put, 27% of the total population of Africa has mini computers at their disposal! Africa is not only thriving on mobile technology and internet, but also other forms of technology that contributed immensely to the day-to-day life on the
The Social Construction of Technology (or SCOT) is a new research tradition rooted in the sociology of technology. SCOT provides a multi-directional model based on the property of interpretative flexibility, and emphasizes on social influences on the technology design and development. This paper will apply SCOT principles to explore the development of cell phone, define the development of cell phone into three different stages historically, and analyze the interpretative flexibility of the cell phone accordingly in the three different stages. Based on SCOT theory, this paper will discuss how the original huge cell phones are shaped and developed by social influences to the smartphones in today’s life.
Sadat Nurullah, Abu. "The Cell Phone as an Agent of Social Change." Academia.edu. University of Alberta, n.d. Web. 4 Nov 2013. .
Many people in today’s society rely on technology to help us with our daily lives and help us stay connected to family, friends, and other people. The advancements in today’s cell phone technology is very complex and made to be efficient for their owners, allowing them to surf the net and IM message people instantly. Cellphones in particular have developed very fast in the past 15 years. From my childhood, cell phones have evolved from the old school Nokia bricks that allowed texts, calls, and simple graphic games, to todays I-Phones that have higher computable capabilities than some computers. In the United States alone, there is an estimated population of around 297 million people, and 197 million people are subscribed to cell phone companies (Starr). With so many people in today’s society with so much power and opportunity in the palm of their hands, we shouldn’t forget that “With great power comes great responsibility” –Voltaire.
Telecommunications gained mainstream attention in the early 90’s; however the initial key market was business men and women, who used their phones whilst being on the move and so allowing them to communicate with their companies with ease. Though in the modern era, telecommunication went through segmentation in the market trends, and now in this day and age it would be difficult to find someone who does not own some form of mobile technology. Many phone providers battle to provide the best service for their customers (Figure 1).
Mobile is the first order priority device for access because people are connecting with others, finding entertainment, and doing business—all with smart phones. The prices of mobile phones are never over $1,000 in today’s world. They are affordable and accessible. As the result of the changes the worldwide and national business environment has undergone, people own 1-2 cell phones on average. However, the mobile markets in US seems to have been saturated.
Rippin, Hannah. “The Mobile Phone in Everyday Life.” Fast Capitalism. 2005. Web. 14 Feb, 2014.
Uganda is a land-locked country located in East Africa, bordered by the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, Sudan and Tanzania. It is a developing country and with a population of about 36.35 million inhabitants, it is one of the fastest and most consistently growing economies in Africa. Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) is the country’s regulator of the communications sector. According to World Bank’s data, the number of mobile cellular subscriptions in Uganda has been increasing gradually every year; reaching a mobile subscription of 45 (per 100 people) in 2012 from 29 in 2009. This makes 16.35 million mobile subscribers as of 2012 which is forty-five percent of Uganda’s total population. The introduction of mobile telephony has revolutionized the country’s telecommunications industry which is now considered over-crowded with a presence of eight networks in the market. MTN launched its services at Uganda in 1998 and since the recent launch of LTE network in April 2013, MTN it has become one of the leading telecoms in Uganda.
Cell phones are among the most innovative gadgets of the 20th century. Traditionally, people relied on cumbersome methods to transmit information and data over long distance, which usually made the communication process ineffective and slow. The ability to communicate deferred from one society to another and some societies had advantage over others due to their superior methods of communication. It was problematic to send urgent messages due to the lack of reliable and fast techniques of communication. The cell phone invention solved most of these issues. It introduced a platform through which parties could communicate instantaneously regardless of their location or distance. In addition, the cell phone technology is globally accepted hence it is a uniform medium of communication, making it both fast and efficient in any given community. Moreover, cell phones opened up room for more technological in...
North, David, Kevin Johnston, and Jacques Ophoff. "The Use of Mobile Phones by South African University Students." Issues in Informing Science & Information Technology 11 (2014): 115-38. Computers & Applied Sciences Complete. Web. 15 Mar. 2016. .
The year is 2014, the markets are changing constantly, and they always have to meet the needs of new consumers as well as old consumers. Mobile telephones have been in the retail and wholesale business for quite some time, and are only evolving from here on out. There are things that these cell phones can bring us that are major benefits in our everyday lives. Cell phones bring us maps, radios, address books, and even flashlights now. Cell phones have taken shape from a huge portable device to a more convenient thin device that can fit in your pocket. With time in any consumer market, the consumer adapts to the technology that makes their life easier. The constant innovation of cell phones has led us to smart phones, and these smart phones are capable of putting certain businesses out of the market. Businesses that engineered PDAs in the past were met with challenges because smart phones are able to match their productivity. Land lines have become useless since everyone can afford a mobile device now. Listening to music has also switched from a traditional CD Player/MP3 Player to an everyday smart phone.
Thakkar states that, “By 2040 we will have a larger workforce than China” (p. 53). The novel explains that these improvements are occurring through their better leaders and increased entrepreneurship. Thakkar also states that this African revolution is mainly occurring because of one thing, “It’s called a cell phone-and it’s been a game changer” (p. 54). Through this upbringing of technology creates “Silicon Savannahs” throughout Africa. This includes multiple creations of different smartphone companies throughout the continent, launchings of tech colleges, as well as huge investments from venture capital firms. In regards to the novel, The Next Africa, Jake Bright and Aubrey Hruby explains that, “Government efforts to build ICT infrastructure and stimulate invention are under way in countries as diverse as Cameroon, Rwanda, and Tanzania” (p. 169). Through these new startups and huge business endeavors, it creates a staple for future successful opportunities among many countries in