France plans to offer 1.2 million of the country's poorest citizens a computer with broadband Internet access for a daily fee of €1 (US$1.28), to ensure that they have access to the increasing number of government services available online.

The French government has set ambitious targets for making public services available over the Internet, but is concerned that almost half the population still lacks regular access to the Internet.

At the Microsoft Government Leaders Forum Africa 2006, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates and former US President Bill Clinton highlighted the critical role information and communication technology (ICT) and public-private partnerships play to create change and a strong, vibrant future across Africa and developing countries. During his keynote, Gates highlighted Microsoft's long-term approach to investment in Africa, including collaborations between Microsoft and local and global organisations su ...

In Africa, the channels of communication are underdeveloped or inappropriate due to numerous factors. This paper outlines the prospects for fiber optic technology in Africa and looks at some fiber optic networks in Africa, examining how fiber optics applications are being used to enhance technological and economic development.

Scientists from 17 countries in sub-Saharan Africa have come up with a plan of action for applying satellite technology to a wide range of development issues.

Among the applications is telemedicine, in which large hospitals are connected via satellite to remote clinics where terrestrial communication systems are non-existent or damaged.

How do you bring Internet access to remote villages in Africa? And are people's lives going to improve once they can get online? The GSM Association, a trade group that represents mobile phone operators in 213 countries, has a plan for the first question and responds with a resounding yes to the second.

AT&T launched a $100 million initiative to provide computer equipment, Internet access and training to 50,000 low income families. The three-year project, called AT&T Access All, is a partnership between AT&T and its charitable foundation with Habitat for Humanity and One Economy Corp., a nonprofit that brings technology to underprivileged families.

The Federal Government has set up a company to integrate its existing Information and Communication Technology (ICT) into a national backbone. Called Galaxy Backbone PLC, the integration is expected to further generate reliable data, voice and video transmission.

Malaysia is set to use satellite technology in education, agriculture, fisheries and telemedicine, to further improve incomes and the quality of life of its people, especially those in rural areas.

The government has announced that it will soon roll out Sh2.16 billion (US$30 million) Information Technology (IT) programme to spur rural connectivity to national information highways.

This will be part of the ongoing fibre optics link project which targets to connect the countryÂ’s major towns.

Information minister Mutahi Kagwe said through such initiatives, the government hopes to maximize equal access to information by every Kenyan. He said the government will equally address the co ...

The World Bank has agreed to lend Viet Nam US$88 million in concessional credit to support the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Development Project. [...] The ICT Development project, worth a total of $197 million, is aimed at enhancing infrastructure and application of ICT in order to increase the efficiency of public administration and the development of private businesses.

In its fourth year, the Information and Communication Technologies Task Force, through its core activities, working groups and regional nodes, made a substantive contribution to the preparations for the Tunis phase of the World Summit on the Information Society by sponsoring several regional meetings, organizing a series of global forums, producing several publications and participating actively in events organized by other stakeholders; organized three high-level round tables linking inform ...

This book, a collaborative effort of the United Nations ICT Task Force and the Wireless Internet Institute (W2i), is intended as a resource and toolkit for local authorities seeking to plan, fund and deploy broadband-wireless networks in their communities. It also aims to raise awareness of the immense potential of wireless technologies in meeting the real needs of the poor. Indeed, the exponential growth in new technologies continues to offer vast opportunities.