Society and telecommunication

Society and telecommunicationTelecommunication is an important part of modern society. In 2006, estimates placed the telecommunication industry's revenue at $1.2 trillion or just under 3% of the gross world product (official exchange rate).[9]
On the microeconomic scale, companies have used telecommunication to help build global empires. This is self-evident in the case of online retailer Amazon.com but, according to academic Edward Lenert, even the conventional retailer Wal-Mart has benefited from better telecommunication infrastructure compared to its competitors.[10] In cities throughout the world, home owners use their telephones to organize many home services ranging from pizza deliveries to electricians. Even relatively poor communities have been noted to use telecommunication to their advantage. In Bangladesh's Narshingdi district, isolated villagers use cell phones to speak directly to wholesalers and arrange a better price for their goods. In Cote d'Ivoire, coffee growers share mobile phones to follow hourly variations in coffee prices and sell at the best price.[11]
On the macroeconomic scale, Lars-Hendrik Röller and Leonard Waverman suggested a causal link between good telecommunication infrastructure and economic growth.[12] Few dispute the existence of a correlation although some argue it is wrong to view the relationship as causal.[13]
Due to the economic benefits of good telecommunication infrastructure, there is increasing worry about the digital divide. This is because the world's population does not have equal access to telecommunication systems. A 2003 survey by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) revealed that roughly one-third of countries have less than 1 mobile subscription for every 20 people and one-third of countries have less than 1 fixed line subscription for every 20 people. In terms of Internet access, roughly half of all countries have less than 1 in 20 people with Internet access. From this information, as well as educational data, the ITU was able to compile an index that measures the overall ability of citizens to access and use information and communication technologies.[14] Using this measure, countries such as Sweden, Denmark and Iceland received the highest ranking while African countries such as Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali received the lowest