Communications of the ACM
How to Cross the Digital Divide, Rwanda-Style
Rwanda is emerging as an interesting test case on how a digital divide is actually being bridged in a methodical, well-thought-out, step-by-step manner. The first step was basic connection to one another and the Web over cell phones. Nearly everyone has a cell phone in Rwanda — even people in some of the poorest, most remote areas of the country. My Rwandan SIM card and enough minutes to last a month cost me the equivalent of $12 US dollars. It's one of the only things that's cheap in a land-locked country that has to import most everything it consumes. And the cell phone connection works everywhere — even on winding dirt roads where there's no electricity.
The second step is being rolled out now, literally. Everywhere you go in Rwanda, there are huge spools of fiber optic cable.
From The Washington Post
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