Wireless Reach
Helping to bridge the digital divide
Despite the rapid pace of technology, a digital divide still exists. Thirty-four percent of the world’s population does not have a mobile phone.1 Seventy-five percent of the population does not use the Internet.2
We know access to wireless communications has a direct, positive impact on people’s economic well-being. The World Bank has found that increasing mobile penetration by 10 percentage points in developing countries increases per capita GDP by .81 percent.3 A 10 percent increase in broadband penetration in those countries increases per capita GDP by 1.38 percent.4
Our strategic Wireless Reach™ initiative is helping to close the digital divide. With 66 projects in various stages of development in 29 countries, Wireless Reach brings wireless technology to underserved communities around the world. By working with other organizations, Wireless Reach invests in projects that foster entrepreneurship, aid in public safety, enhance the delivery of health care, enrich teaching and learning and improve environmental sustainability. You can read more about Wireless Reach here. Following are five Wireless Reach accomplishments from 2010.
Case Studies
Brazil: Promoting sustainable economic development
Wireless Reach worked with the marginalized, indigenous fishing communities in Santa Cruz Cabrália to integrate mobile devices as a means to improve the quality, diversity and sustainability of the local fishing and mariculture economy. The Fishing with 3G Nets project provided technology with real-time information on water quality, weather and markets. Fishers can now connect directly with consumers, diversify their catch and improve their earning potential. To date, 64 fishers have been trained to use the system, and 16 boats have been equipped with 3G mobile phones, safety equipment, eco-sonar, GPS and VHF radios.
China: Bringing Internet connectivity to rural schools
The 2010 Connected Computer Classroom Program focused on three provinces—Anhui, Gansu and Sichuan. In these areas, 33 underserved schools and training centers were provided with wireless Internet access, benefiting more than 92,000 students and teachers.
Japan: 3G health care access for rural communities
There are regions in Japan where access to advanced health care is lacking—particularly in snowy areas such as Hokkaido, where winter makes access to health care facilities more difficult. Wireless Reach supported a project that enables 300 remotely located elderly patients to send critical health information to doctors through the 3G wireless network. Blood pressure, weight and other information is easily shared in real time with participating physicians, who quickly review the data and advise patients accordingly.
Philippines: Improving public health reporting
In the Philippines—a nation spread over more than 7,100 islands—local health care providers compile and report public health data via the Department of Health’s Field Health Service Information System, the country’s main data source for policy analysis and planning. The Wireless Access for Health project streamlined health data reporting by strengthening the existing electronic medical record system. In the Tarlac region, the enhanced system has improved access to public health information—and patient care—by turning data captured during patient visits into actionable reports for health care workers. Results of the pilot phase, which recorded more than 12,000 patient consultations, indicate that such a system has had a real impact for decision makers by providing them with accurate and timely health data that allows them to identify and prevent disease outbreaks across the Philippines.
United States: Enhancing student achievement
Created jointly with the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction and Digital Millennial Consulting, Project K-Nect is a Wireless Reach–funded pilot program developed to determine whether smart phones can enhance student interest in learning. The project’s initial aim was to improve math skills among at-risk students in rural North Carolina who did not have Internet access at home. The project team created digital content for Algebra I students and then encouraged them to use collaborative learning applications as well as Internet resources, such as Algebra.com. For three consecutive years, the project has shown success in students’ achievement. Students who participated in one of the classes had a 50 percent higher proficiency rate than those who didn’t. In the fall of 2009, 2,000 students were added to the program due to a $2.5 million U.S. Department of Defense Education Activity grant. Project K-Nect has also been incorporated into Algebra II, geometry and biology courses.
1Informa Telecoms and Media, “Worldwide Total and Prepaid Subscriptions,” WCIS, September 2009, http://www.wcisplus.com/wcisplus/NumericalDataPage.html.
2Internet usage percentage is for June 30, 2009, and comes from data published by Nielsen Online, the ITU, GfK, local regulators and other reliable sources, http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm.
3Figure 3.1: Growth Effects of ICT, Christine Zhen-Wei Quang and Garlo M. Rossotto with Kaoru Kimura, “Economic Impacts of Broadband” in Information and Communications for Development 2009–Extending Reach and Increasing Impact (World Bank, 2009), Google Books.
4Ibid.