[Telecentres] Mobile ICTs & telecenters / mobile telecenters?

[Donald Z. Osborn]

For some years I've wondered about the future of telecenters - which cost a fair
amount of money to build and maintain - in the face of increasingly smaller and
more mobile ICTs. It has therefore been interesting to read about experience
with and emphasis on telecenters as community centers. Apparently an evolution
from the original focus on the technology?

Another question comes to mind and that is the fate of "mobile telecenters" as
an idea and practice. I have not noticed mention of this on this list. Is the
idea one that never proved practical or that some are actually using? It would
seem that a mobile telecenter has some advantages - for instance in rural areas
where it could run the circuit of weekly markets or something - but ultimately
can't out-mobile mobile ICTs and can't serve as well as a community center. Add
to that road quality, vehicle maintenance and security issues, and perhaps
mobile telecenters are simply impractical?

Don Osborn
Bisharat.net



Quoting Joel Galgana <biz_insights at yahoo.com>:
[Re: Basic Telecentre Items/ICT Definition Mon, 4 Oct 2004 04:35:57 +0100
(BST)]
...
> 
> A more pragmatic approach, and one that is currently
> being recognized as workable, is the use of mobile
> communications technologies. We now have a term - 
> "M-government" (mobile) for the use of SMS
> technologies for interaction between the citizenry and
> government.
> 
...