As cell phones emerged as an affordable option for developing countries, they allowed countries to bypass the development of a fixed-landline phone network. Although some major cities have land-line networks, it was rare to see them in households and average businesses. Now cell phones are doing it again, this time in regards to internet, bypassing cable connections (DSL, telephones) to allow the average person to connect to the internet with their cell-phone and a SIM card.
I've seen the internet rapidly expand in developing countries over the last five years. Due to increased phone network coverage and availability of affordable smartphones, the average person has the opportunity to access the internet not only by way of internet cafes, but also in the home. In between the stages of smartphones and cable connections there was the internet "dongle" which is still widely used today.
The dongle, also called, USB modem, internet stick, USB network adapter or USB mobile broadband stick, acts as a modem to use mobile broadband connections to connect your computer to the internet. You typically by them from a mobile carrier and apply "credit" to the SIM card. Pre-pay is the most common way of accessing mobile services and as a result it's similar with dongles. They are convenient as you can use them in both laptops and PCs and they don't require an external power source. The speeds can be slow but beggars can't be choosers!
Dongles are great but they are highly specialized and come at a cost. Most people who can afford a dongle can probably afford a smart-phone as they are becoming cheaper and more ubiquitous in the developing world. I recently bought a Samsung smart-phone and even the most basic model has an option for USB tethering and switching your phone to be a Wi-Fi hotspot. My phone can still function as a phone while tethered or acting as a hot-spot thus rendering the dongle redundant.
Because I'm living in a city I have nearly constant access to the internet. Naturally the networks here aren't 100% reliable and the speed fluctuates. You have to shop around their "bundles" to find the most affordable package but it can be very cheap. I have even been able to stream (albeit in low quality) the recent World Cup games. This takes about 300mb which I pay under $1.00 for.
As smartphones become cheaper (Mozilla even introduced a $25 smart phone) and phone networks become even more widespread, I'm curious to see how the internet continues to change the world. East Africa has already pioneered the mobile-money scheme using cell phones to bypass an institution that many in the west would think is unthinkable to bypass; banks. It will be interesting to see what other sectors it revolutionizes!
I've seen the internet rapidly expand in developing countries over the last five years. Due to increased phone network coverage and availability of affordable smartphones, the average person has the opportunity to access the internet not only by way of internet cafes, but also in the home. In between the stages of smartphones and cable connections there was the internet "dongle" which is still widely used today.
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| Dongle with a SIM card. |
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| Dongle plugged into the USB port. |
Dongles are great but they are highly specialized and come at a cost. Most people who can afford a dongle can probably afford a smart-phone as they are becoming cheaper and more ubiquitous in the developing world. I recently bought a Samsung smart-phone and even the most basic model has an option for USB tethering and switching your phone to be a Wi-Fi hotspot. My phone can still function as a phone while tethered or acting as a hot-spot thus rendering the dongle redundant.
Because I'm living in a city I have nearly constant access to the internet. Naturally the networks here aren't 100% reliable and the speed fluctuates. You have to shop around their "bundles" to find the most affordable package but it can be very cheap. I have even been able to stream (albeit in low quality) the recent World Cup games. This takes about 300mb which I pay under $1.00 for.
As smartphones become cheaper (Mozilla even introduced a $25 smart phone) and phone networks become even more widespread, I'm curious to see how the internet continues to change the world. East Africa has already pioneered the mobile-money scheme using cell phones to bypass an institution that many in the west would think is unthinkable to bypass; banks. It will be interesting to see what other sectors it revolutionizes!
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