Australia debates whether cell phones reduce need for a fiber data network

SYDNEY – Critics here are sniping at the Australian government's plan to build optical fiber links to almost all homes here, at an estimated cost of $43 billion. The criticism is that the plan is going forward according to a plan devised years ago – a plan which assumes personal computers would be the way Australians connect to the Internet. At the time, that was correct. But now, with the unexpected surge of mobile devices as a primary medium and with the rise of smart phones as the way people reach the Internet, critics are saying the project could……

African mobile technology services developed for news and empowerment: Universal access

"No Internet needed." Those three words are seen more and more often promoting new mobile phone applications in Africa, where the newest apps are more likely than not to be free, to run on cheap low-end phones, and to function even without Internet access. In Africa, you can also use your cell phone to listen to "radio" programs from sources ranging from broadcasters to public service providers – and again without Internet access…….

Spotlight on TIP efforts in Investor’s Business Daily

Investor's Business Daily recently profiled the Center on Communication Leadership & Policy's research project on human trafficking. CCLP's Research Director Mark Latonero shared his expertise on communication technology and trafficking in persons as well as some of the highlights from his August fact finding trip to Thailand and Cambodia and the research that has been undertaken so far by CCLP. —————————————————————————————————————– Tech Gets Enlisted In The War Against Human Trafficking By Shelia Riley, for INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY The fight against human trafficking is using a few new weapons: texting, iPhone apps and smarter passports. An estimated 12.3 million adults and……

Communication technology serves as a rare bright spot in Haitian recovery, CCLP research trip finds

The Republic of Haiti continues to struggle in its recovery efforts following the devastating January 2010 earthquake, but information and communication technologies are among the few infrastructure bright spots in the country, based on the observations from a recent fact-finding trip, in which the USC Annenberg Center on Communication Leadership & Policy (CCLP) participated. CCLP Research Director Mark Latonero, who was selected for the week-long research project because of his work in communication technology and emergency management, found that cell phones and text messages were critical tools for sharing information about recovery efforts in the earthquake ravaged country. "Port-au-Prince still……