[bytesforall_readers] Re: RE: [Telecentres] how many telecenters continued

[john lawrence]

the answer to timely emergency info lies ultimately in widely available 
(and reliable) hand-held devices.... if you put together the mobile 
phone stories from the asian tsunami disaster with the way that internet 
and email comms can keep pace with fast moving events, many lives might 
have been saved if some form of legitimate and credible alarm buzzer 
could have been activated on just a few hand held devices, and the word 
could have spread accordingly and quickly through affected communities ....
governments alone cannot be relied upon to provide timely evacuation 
info... or even adequate emergency evacuation plans that make any 
sense.... just look at the average evacuation plan for nuclear or even 
natural disasters in the US.... roads are frequently jammed at rush hour 
every day now... the idea of anyone escaping anything in a hurry by 
vehicle is ironically laughable, yet most community evacuation plans in 
the US are premised on road access, and public services (and public 
officials such as traffic cops) that would stay on beat and on message 
throughout... 9/11 showed us the best of public service in New York and 
Washington, but lower Manhattan  was a disaster that could literally be 
walked away from, as thousands testified to by the memorable and tragic 
exodus on that day.... cellphones however were (I am told)  notoriously 
unreliable because lines were jammed.... however somehow, I believe we 
have to get beyond the key first step of telecenters to hand held 
communicators that do it all!

John Lawrence
UNDP consultant and
Adjunct Professor, SIPA
Columbia University.



Ashish Saboo wrote:

>
> Don,
>   I can't agree more with your observation, yes they number as many as 
> Barber shops or news agents in the Asian countries . I just read a 
> Philiphines based news digest columnist share the same view. 
> http://www.mb.com.ph/TECH2004122825305.html .
>   Given the low entry & exit barrier, the float remains constant to 
> reducing .
>     The Best estimates between 20,000 to 2,00,000 are just wild guess. 
> I remember reading news stories of China itself host to 200,000 cafes.
>     In South korea where "PC Bangs" are regarded as the  strongest 
> driving forces to raise Korean software industry had over 20,000 cafes 
> in 2002 . http://mcel.pacificu.edu/aspac/papers/scholars/parkb/park.htm
>   but with abundance of broadband , they are diminishing.
>
> Here in India, Bangalore city Police estimates 5000 centres , on whom 
> they have enacted a law which demands you to prove your identity 
> before you access the Internet. add Mumbai another 5,000.
>
> Maybe a reverse hypothesis may work , lets say how many minutes of 
> information access is required which can be best served by telecentres 
> of all the hues. At least this number will give us the relevance & 
> scope of our operations . Look forward to you all members comments.
>
> Thanks
>
> Ashish Saboo
> India
>
>
>
>
>
> On Mon, 27 Dec 2004 Don Cameron wrote :
> >This does make for an interesting exercise...
> >
> >Of the figures available, the "best estimates" seem to place the total
> >number of global cyber-cafes and Telecentre's at somewhere between 
> 20,000 to
> >200,000 - quite a variation! - although perhaps not surprising 
> considering
> >earlier this year China closed 8,600 cyber cafés in just a 3 month 
> period(1)
> >comparable to the 3,300 cafes closed in China over a 6 month period in
> >2002(2).
> >
> >Counting Telecentre's and Cyber Cafés is probably akin to counting 
> take-away
> >hamburger shops or newsagents... There are so may opening and closing
> >simultaneously that I doubt you could achieve anything near a qualitative
> >assessment of the real number at any given time - but good luck in your
> >efforts.
> >
> >(1)
> >http://theage.com.au/articles/2004/05/07/1083881475636.html?oneclick=true
> >(2) http://computercops.biz/article1962.html
> >
> >Rgds, Don
> >
> >
>
> Ashish Saboo
> President
> Association of Public Internet Access Provider (ApiAp)
> The voice of independent Cyber cafe operators
> URL: http://www.apiap.cybernook.net
> Blog: http://apiap.blogspot.com
>
>
>
>
>
>
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