The Global Digital Divide and Mobile Business Models: Identifying Viable Patterns of e-Development

Capabilities for accessing, delivering, and exchanging information in digital forms vary greatly across the rich and the poor nations. Mobile networks can reach quickly into regions where fixed networks are slow to emerge and thus offer the potential to bridge the global digital divide. The ultimate success of these " mobile e-Development " or MED models, however, will depend on a variety of contextual factors shaped by specific aspects of technology, economy, politics, regulation, and culture. This paper attempts to provide an insight into the mechanisms by which these contextual factors are likely to influence the penetration and the degree and types of mobile phone use. Two cases are presented to illustrate how the environmental forces are shaping the development of mobile markets in Asian countries. Introduction Rich and poor nations vary greatly in their capabilities for accessing, delivering, and