Category: J. Internet and ICTs
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Biometrics as a tool for development for FP. Upset libertarians are fun in the comments.
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This essay for CGD critiques the UN Broadband Commision's reports which suggest broadband is vital to meet the Millennium Development Goals. It isn't.
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Technology and USAID is a CGD essay discussing Raj Shah's efforts to promote technology in development. It is a great idea, but it carries risks well illustrated by his example of a tablet computer changing farming practices and education in rural West Africa.
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An FP column with a somewhat critical take on the UN Broadband Commission.
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Co-authored with my brother Robert, the latest FP column is the short version of our paper arguing that governments shouldn't subsidize fiber rollout. I'd wanted the title to be 'insoluble fiber,' but there you go.
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Suerpfast: Is It Worth A Subsidy? is a working paper written with my brother, Robert Kenny, at Communications Chambers. Governments around the world are investing multiple billions to support the roll-out of fiber. These subsidies are based on the premise that fiber to the home brings substantial externalities. However, the evidence that basic broadband has…
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More on TV, this time in Time (with bonus video for those who can stomach it). The editing process was an exercise in humility —here's the original draft, which is about five times longer.
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Revolution in a Box was published in the November issue of Foreign Policy. The article notes the continuing global spread of television sets and an explosion of viewer choice driven by cable, satellite and digital technologies. It suggests this is a good thing, pointing to evidence that access to competitive television can improve womens' standing in…
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The Next Decade of ICT Development: Access, Applications, and the Forces of Convergence was co-authored with Mohsen Khalil. It was published in Information Technology for International Development 4,3. Developing countries are already driving global innovation in technologies and business models related to information and communications. Ongoing technological change may give new life to business and regulatory…
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ICT: Promises, Opportunities and Dangers for the Rural Future is for the Rural Futures conference in Plymouth, UK in March. The paper briefly reviews the evidence regarding the rapid rollout of rural ICT access worldwide, and the powerful tools that access can unleash. At the same time, it suggests the limits to the ICT revolution…