| Chapter 1: | The Evolution of Mobile Internet Communications |
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Geert Lovink, Amsterdam-based media theorist, Net critic, and activist professor, agreed, writing, “To have a communication break will be the most looked-after ‘human right’ of the 21st century. That's luxury…We in the West still look at modern communication from a moral perspective, as something that's an extra which is not really necessary in order to live a fulfilling life. But mobile phones are not a lifestyle choice. They are vital in order to stay in touch with family and clients in dense metropolitan environments where people are on the road for most of the day.”
Several anonymous respondents wrote that small, simple mobile devices are the only affordable choice for connection for the billions of less advantaged people in the world. “There won’t be any major shift in economic situations of today's poor by 2020. The cheaper the technology, the better chance it has of being used,” wrote an anonymous survey participant. Another wrote, “The mobile phone helps create connectivity in regions that don't have extensive communications infrastructure. So it's a logical entry point for Internet access in the developing world.”
Lutfor Rahman, of the Association for Advancement of Information Technology in Bangladesh, said mobile communication is world changing. “Before introducing the mobile phone in remote areas of Bangladesh, the exchange of information was through physically meeting,” he wrote. “That wasted much time, and sometimes it became impossible in short time because of lack of communication facilities.”
Gbenga Sesan, Nigerian and consultant on the use of the Internet for development for Paradigm Initiative, has written extensively about the use of mobile communications. “With the rise in the number of mobile phone users across the continent, it is only wise to start planning that the future will be driven through mobile phones—governance, businesses, networking, leisure, and more,” he commented. “The story will be the same across the world. Regardless of technology choice (GSM, CDMA, etc.), mobile telephones will form the core of human interaction and livelihood. And when you consider the fact that some mobile phones were competing with computers in 2007, you can only wonder if owning a PC will matter by December 31, 2019.”