Rural areas of the developing world are the last frontier of the information technology revolution. Telephone and internet penetration there remains a small fraction of what it is in the developed world. Limited means of electronic communication with the outside world are just one source of isolation of rural communities and economies from the forces of national and global integration, albeit an important one. Without roads and electricity, the benefits of extending ICT access would be greatly diminished. Conversely, where these other elements of infrastructure are in place, those benefits can be multiplied. The costs of ICT provision to rural areas tend to be higher than to more densely populated urban areas, and the ability to pay of potential subscribers lower. In recent years, a number of interesting experiments has been initiated to extend low-cost telephone and, in some cases, internet access to low-income rural communities. This paper reviews some of these, with a particular ...

Les zones rurales des pays en développement sont les dernières à attendre encore la révolution des technologies de l’information. Le taux de pénétration du téléphone et d’Internet reste encore minime par rapport à celui des pays développés. Les moyens limités de communication électronique avec le reste du monde sont une source d’isolement parmi d'autres — mais importante — des communautés et des économies rurales par rapport aux dynamiques de l’intégration nationale et mondiale. En l'absence de routes et d'électricité, améliorer l’accès aux TIC n'a qu'un intérêt limité. A l’inverse, dès que ces éléments d’infrastructures existent, les avantages se cumulent. Fournir des TIC dans les zones rurales est généralement plus coûteux que dans des zones urbaines plus peuplées ; les moyens des abonnés potentiels semblent aussi plus limités. Ces dernières années, un certain nombre d’expériences intéressantes ont été entreprises pour développer le téléphone à bas prix et, dans certains cas ...

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Paper provided by OECD, Development Centre in its series OECD Development Centre Working Papers with number 229.

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