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Resumé du document :
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Communication is widely seen as an essential part of – and a tool for – development. But in the recent excitement about bridging the ‘digital divide’ and promoting Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) for development, it is often forgotten that most rural Africans do not yet have access to a basic telephone service. For instance, in rural areas of Malawithere is only one telephone for every 1,250 people. The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), which aims to create an inclusive information society, made no specific reference to basic telephone services in the Declaration of Principles and Plan of Action that were agreed at its first,meeting in Geneva in December 2003. Yet without this basic infrastructure, it is doubtful if many of the internet-based ICTs that WSIS focuses on can be made available to rural areas. |
