Impact of Telecommunication Social or Economical

In 2013, worldwide telecommunications will reach $2.3 trillion in revenues [1]. The revenue from telecommunication services is projected to grow at the rate of 3.8 percent [1]. Not only is the telecommunications industry monetarily strong but also has a great impact on the social and economic development of the world. Telecommunications has changed the way people live, interact and conduct businesses. Rwanda, commonly known as “the Land of a Thousand Hills”, is a country in central Africa. This country faced a civil war in 1993. Between April and June 1994, an estimated 800,000 Rwandans were killed [9]. After this genocide, one of the most important areas of development that the Government focused on was Information and Communication Technology (ICT). Rwanda, with its hilly terrain, is favorable for growing tea and coffee. Export of tea comprised of 70% of its export [2]. Thus during the U.S. recession of 2009, Rwanda’s GDP grew by 4.1% in comparison to 11.2% a year before [4]. The geography of the country and the underdeveloped road/rail transportation adds on to increased cost in exporting goods [2]. One of the main reasons for focusing on ICT policy was to convert Rwanda from an agrarian economy to an information-centric economy [3]. In order to achieve this, the Government has implemented National Information and Communication Technology (ICT) policy [8].
Earlier in Rwanda, there were a very few newspapers published on a weekly or even on biweekly basis. The Rwandan Government used to broadcast radio all throughout the day in order to educate people [2]. But this effort did not scale nationwide and the nature of information was limited. There were three major telecommunications providers in the country by 2012, because of National ICT policy and privatization of Rwanda’s telecommunications industry. Telecommunications services have provided a broader source of information through the Internet and has facilitated in educating the people of Rwanda across

References: [2] Anonymous. [Online] Available: http://www.historycentral.com/nationbynation/Rwanda/Economy.html Accessed on January 30, 2013 [3] K