This Week in Global Mobile | October 15, 2010
At times it's difficult to keep pace with the latest global mobile developments. I hope this selection of news stories from the past week will help you navigate the growing global network of connectivity:
- The Kenyan government launched a virtual court, which uses videoconferencing technology to allow litigants to appear electronically in court, in order to increase transparency reduce corruption.
- Alec Ross, Secretary Clinton’s Senior Advisor for Innovation, reflects on the valuable role of technology in curbing drug-related violence in Ciudad Juarez. Also check out Sam's thoughts on new media and journalism in Mexico.
- For the past 24 hours, the Manchester Police have been tweeting every 999 call (the British 911 equivalent) they receive to publicize the departments’ diverse efforts towards increasing safety.
- Pakistan reached 100 million unique mobile subscribers, the latest milestone in a “success story” of growth in subscriber base.
- At yesterday’s MTV-BET-CMT youth town hall, President Barack Obama shared his thoughts on new media and fielded questions submitted by Americans over Twitter.
- The Egyptian government is set to impose new SMS restrictions in an attempt to reduce anti-regime activism during next month’s parliamentary elections.
- Archaeologists at Pompeii have been equipped with iPads to help with their everyday work functions in an effort to streamline the dig process.
- The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation announced a $20 million initiative to fund Internet-based ventures aimed at improving low college graduation rates in the U.S.
- European researchers have developed a prototype of a Body Area Network for the Android platform, which wirelessly transmits and displays electrocardiogram signals from sensors on the body to the handheld device.
- Google has been developing software which gives cars the ability to drive themselves and communicate with other vehicles.
- A Nielsen report released yesterday indicates that American mobile-equipped teens use four times as much data per month as they did one year ago. They also text six times per waking hour -- nearly 4,000 each month.
- The Colombian government promised to invest $159 million to bring digital television to all Colombian households via terrestrial and satellite connections.
- Safaricom’s COO declared that Internet prices in Kenya are falling significantly, thanks to the impending completion of four high-capacity fiberoptic cables.
- India has extended until January 31 the deadline for BlackBerry’s manufacturer RIM to give the government full access to encrypted BBM messages sent among users in the country.
- 175 million American Internet users watched online video a total of 5.2 billion times throughout the month of September, comScore reports.
- In partnership with Computers for Schools Kenya, Computer Aid launched the country’s first solar-powered Internet cafe in Nairobi this morning.
- Samhir Vasdev's blog
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