CNN: 3G [phones] may bring Web to African poor

CNN.com - 3G may bring Web to African poor - Mar 8, 2005:

"JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (Reuters) -- Sowetan security guard Sam Phungo has never surfed the web and like most Africans, wouldn't know where to start.

'I guess if I could get a phone line and a cheap computer then I'd have a go,' he told Reuters with a wry smile, aware that neither are easy to come by in South Africa's biggest township.

But according to Africa's cell phone operators, Phungo's life could change with the launch of third generation technology they say will bring Internet access via mobile phones to millions of the world's poorest people.

The ultra-modern services, marketed at the tech-savvy in the west, could soon be beaming football scores, weather forecasts, video and music to slums and villages in a continent where almost half the population has never made a phone call.

'This is an opportunity to bring Africa into the information age,' said Karel Pienaar, chief technology officer at Africa's biggest cell phone operator MTN, which aims to launch 3G in South Africa in June.

Sceptics say it will take years before villagers in places like dirt-poor Malawi are surfing the web, due to high prices for handsets and poor infrastructure. But even the most cautious concede it will happen eventually..."

posted by Jeff @ 6:05 PM