Quick – what’s the best way to bridge the digital divide between rich nations and poor nations? Nope, not computers. Nope, not Internet either. The answer, is mobile phones, according to The Economist:
A new paper finds that mobile phones raise long-term growth rates, that their impact is twice as big in developing nations as in developed ones, and that an extra ten phones per 100 people in a typical developing country increases GDP growth by 0.6 percentage points (see article).
The digital divide that really matters, then, is between those with access to a mobile network and those without. The good news is that the gap is closing fast. The UN has set a goal of 50% access by 2015, but a new report from the World Bank notes that 77% of the world’s population already lives within range of a mobile network.
I think its really quite scary how widespread mobile phones have become. I can’t think of any other technology that is so available in areas of very low income. On the other hand, if mobile phone networks are making a difference, having an impact, then I guess that’s nothing but good news!
Read: Economist.com
MasterMaq's Blog 
I think in Thailand? or was it Taiwan, there are ppl too poor to afford house phones, so they carry cell phones, everyone there has a cell phone, it’s really one of the biggest things to ever hit the general populace in terms of technology! and we owe it all to those nerdy ECE (electrical/comp engg) people! argh 😉
I don’t get it. SO there’s 77% of the world within network range, but they can’t let me keep my number when i switch providers?….it’s a communist conspiracy…