Mobile phones in Africa: how much do we really know?
Mobile phones in Africa: how much do we really know?
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DOI：
10.1007/s11205-006-9079-x
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发表时间：
2007-10
影响因子：
3.1
通讯作者：
Versteeg M
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
James J;Versteeg M
在贫穷国家，尤其是那些缺乏固定线路基础设施的国家，移动电话是一种至关重要的通信和提高福利的方式。近年来，关于非洲的移动电话如何迅速缩小与发达国家的数字鸿沟的报道很多。然而，当人们审视证据时，根本不清楚到底发生了什么。以坦桑尼亚为例，一些观察人士指出，该国97%的人口生活在移动足迹之下，而另一些人则表示，手机的拥有量非常有限。这些极端的价值观促使我们审查整个非洲的局势，以努力发现正在发生的事情。
Mobile phones are a crucial mode of communication and welfare enhancement in poor countries, especially those lacking an infrastructure of fixed lines. In recent years much has been written about how mobile telephony in Africa is rapidly reducing the digital divide with developed countries. Yet, when one examines the evidence it is not at all clear what is really happening. In one country, Tanzania, for example, some observers point to the fact that 97% of the population lives under the mobile footprint, while others show that ownership is very limited. These extreme values prompted us to review the situation in Africa as a whole, in an effort to discover what is really going on.