http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8064579.stm
"(...) it's already clear where the next wave of internet growth and innovation will come from. It will come from the world's developing economies, and it won't even be reliant on access to personal computers.
"Worldwide, we're seeing an unprecedented expansion of internet networks, driven most recently by convergence with mobile communications.
T"he next generation of net users will be in developing nations
"This represents a revolutionary shift in the provision of information and empowerment to individuals throughout the world. Ten years ago, 100 million people used the internet. Today it is 1.4 billion.
"By the end of 2010, 5 billion people will have a mobile phone. Many of these will be internet enabled.
"The consequence of this growth and convergence is an enormous democratisation and devolution of decision-making throughout the globe, especially within the developing world. India alone has a handset uptake of 9 million per month.
"The expansion of mobile networks, combined with the latest smartphone and other internet enabled devices, are enabling developing economies to leapfrog traditional technologies and remove barriers to entry to the global economy for their citizens and businesses.
"Married to the introduction of new generation operating systems, like Google's Android and the IPhone, this mobile internet revolution is going to greatly expand the commercial, social, and political feedback loops which the internet enables and fosters.
"This is transformative for the way governments and companies need to consider how information is gathered, analyzed, and acted on. In a truly networked world, decisions need to be made on real time data, reflecting network effects of complex "eco-systems". Imagine Facebook meets the national bureaus of statistics. (((If you can do that without shuddering convulsively. Okay, come on, imagine it anyway; it's not like we get a choice.)))
"This revolution is particularly important for the services sector of the global economy...."
