Tere are many ISPs out there in the "third world", which is far less homogenous in the level of Internet proliferation than many people in the US might think. Sure, 64k leased line is a maximum ISPs can afford in many countries, but you can stuff a good deal of communication in that. Many countries have small, but booming Internet economies, local language content and established (local) banner ad market - in others the early ISPs business fight hard with government regulations and high poverty levels which doesn't allow for enough paying clients.
Network Startup Resource Center is a good starting point for exploring Internet prolifaration in the developing word - in many cases the information is outdated, because the local Internet grew too much to keep pace with. There was number promoting, funding and training activities to help Internet development in poor countries. Check out NSRC workshop page, Internet Society Network Technology Workshop, and other activities, UNDP's SDNP Programme, Soros Foundation Internet Project, AfNOG page and others.
Some of these activites explicitely aim at Internet accessible to general public (with programs supporting Internet in education, public Internet kiosks etc), but in general the idea is the more networking the better. Frankly, the discussion whether Internet creates new division lines between information haves and have-nots etc sounds a bit pretentious and academic if the only alternative is equality in isolation and poverty. Personally I know a lot of people from developing countries, to whom even very limited Internet presence brough enormous benefits in both knowledge and better living, and that's a good thing. Period.
Slashdot Mirror
Network Startup Resource Center is a good starting point for exploring Internet prolifaration in the developing word - in many cases the information is outdated, because the local Internet grew too much to keep pace with. There was number promoting, funding and training activities to help Internet development in poor countries. Check out NSRC workshop page, Internet Society Network Technology Workshop, and other activities, UNDP's SDNP Programme, Soros Foundation Internet Project, AfNOG page and others.
Some of these activites explicitely aim at Internet accessible to general public (with programs supporting Internet in education, public Internet kiosks etc), but in general the idea is the more networking the better. Frankly, the discussion whether Internet creates new division lines between information haves and have-nots etc sounds a bit pretentious and academic if the only alternative is equality in isolation and poverty. Personally I know a lot of people from developing countries, to whom even very limited Internet presence brough enormous benefits in both knowledge and better living, and that's a good thing. Period.
Honza Jirousek