Julie Bishop address to Council 2010
Could Solar Lighting Be the Next Mobile Phone?
By
Charles Kenny
Global Development: Views from the Centre
January 31, 2012
Between 2000 and 2010, the number of mobile phone subscriptions in developing countries increased from 215 million to 4.1 billion. From a luxury for the rich, the mobile has become a ubiquitous presence in rural and urban areas alike, even in some of the most fragile countries in the world.
Afghanistan saw 38 subscriptions per 100 people in 2010, an average of more than one phone per household. And while ubiquity in Afghanistan is evidence enough that mobile phone access hardly guarantees quality of life or sustainable development, mobiles have proven themselves powerful tools to improve livelihoods –associated with higher prices paid to farmers, improved job seeking opportunities and (more recently) direct payments to those in need. So what’s going to be the next mobile phone –the technology that spreads rapidly to improve the lives of even the poorest people in the developing world? One possibility is solar power.
Australian Leadership Awards Fellowships
Long Term Afghanistan Aid Commitment Applauded