by Giles Lane

The focus on technology deployments must go hand in hand with sensitive community development work, otherwise there is a danger that only the ‘early adopters’ and people most like those excited by the technologies will participate and this will exacerbate a ‘digital divide’.

It is important to remember that wireless technologies are just plumbing – the focus on what applications and services they will enable is critical. If all they offer is untethered internet access, then what exactly is so radical or transformative about that? It is, in fact, the services and opportunities that they give access to that is the crucial issue. The biggest hurdle seems to me to be orchestrating and mediating not only the different technologies that wireless access could enable but also the social, cultural, political and economic forces that will shape and determine the uses of such technologies.

We need to be developing projects that have not only a technology factor but also work closely with actual people and communities. We need to develop creative projects and approaches that understand the broader policy frameworks and how to lobby for change; projects that understand and can envision a wide range of economic benefits (tangible and intangible) and articulate their value in everyday terms; and that add richness to the cultural background of our society.

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