3
Nov
2006

The Future of the Internet is in Asia

November 3rd, 2006 at 09:34 am by ashok in Web

The Future of the Internet is in Asia, on Cell Phones. According to Nitin Desai, U.N.’s top Internet official. The Internet Government Forum which is holding its first conference in Athens (Greece) is discussing the future of Internet.

The IGF has been set up by the United Nations to give governments, companies, organizations and individuals the opportunity to meet, discuss and debate the future of the Internet. India will host the IGF meeting in 2008.

In an interview Friday, Nitin Desai, predicted that Asia will drive a massive online expansion by the end of the decade, propelled by improved cell phone technology and expanding computer sharing plans within communities. “The big expansion in the Internet in the next five years is going to take place in developing countries,” Desai said. “A lot of it in countries which are not English speaking … where people don’t even know the Latin alphabet, for instance, China.”

Desai said Web-enabled cell phones would have a massive impact in the developing world. “Once you get that, the cost of access won’t be more than the cost of using a mobile phone. … India is talking in terms of half a billion people having mobile phones, in a matter of barely five years.”

Source : www.dmwmedia.com

Technorati Tags: IGF, Internet, United Nations, UN