Opportunities for Universal Telecommunication Access in Rural Communities
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Date
2016
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Wits LINK Centre, University of The Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Abstract
The goal of universal telecommunication access is to make telecommunication infrastructure
available to everyone irrespective of their geographical location, income level,
age, gender or other discriminatory parameters. Despite substantial efforts to close the
digital divide, developing countries still encounter daunting challenges in making access
truly universal. In this article, the authors report on an exploratory field survey of 15 rural
communities in Nigeria’s Kwara State to document their perception of the effects of rural
telecoms access on their livelihoods. Results revealed mostly positive effects in respect of
economic growth, poverty alleviation, health education, primary healthcare delivery, and
reporting of epidemic outbreaks such as the recent Ebola crisis. However, little impact on
quality of government service was recorded, as awareness of participation in governance
and socio-political issues was found to be very low. The article discusses some areas in
which universal telecommunications access can be expected, going forward, to address
the needs of communities in rural and remote communities.
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Keywords
Rural Communities, Rural Telecommunications Access, Universal Telecommunications Access, Villages in Kwara State