By Molly Mattessich, Guest Columnist

In some ways, rural countries, including those in Africa, are ahead of the United States on technology. Without the infrastructure — offices, network lines, etc. — to use the Internet in more traditional ways, they have relied on cell phones to exchange information.

According to Cisco’s recent VNI Service Adoption Forecast (VNI-SA) research, mobile commerce ranks as the second-fastest-growing consumer mobile service, increasing at a 42.7 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) globally from 2011 to 2016. The Middle East and Africa will have the second-highest number of users in 2016, reaching 424 million.

Rural farmers in Africa, for example, now often use their cell phones to check commodity prices before heading to market, helping them improve their bottom line at times when a few cents can make a huge difference. Read More »

Tags: africa, farmers, GPS, mobile applications, Peace Corp, research, service adoption, vni, VNI-SA

By Lionel Walters, Guest Columnist

I grew up in suburban Sydney and enjoyed many of the benefits and conveniences of life in a large and established community. I was close to family and friends, had easy access to basic services such as education and health care, and had an almost unlimited selection of entertainment and retail options. In those blissful days of my youth, I had everything I needed within a distance of a few short kilometers.

My situation changed somewhat when I started my career. For the first time I found myself joining thousands of others in a daily commute to inner Sydney. I’m sure I was not alone in feeling that the two hours of travel each day could be better spent in other pursuits, but like so many before me, I took it in stride because I believed it was the price to pay if I wanted to realize the Australian Dream.

Read More »

Tags: Asia-Pacific, Australia, broadband, Connected Life, IT, research, Tasmania, vni, VNI-SA

By Russ Morris, Guest Columnist

In the past 8 years I’ve been lucky enough to have my work exposed to a greater audience by being socially active on the internet.

But, was it just luck?

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Tags: art, photography, service adoption, social media, technology, vni, VNI-SA, VSA

Have you noticed what’s happening in your child’s school? Technology. There’s rarely a lesson taught, be it math or science or health, that doesn’t include some form of technology.

Education has changed to enhance its message, increase its reach, and improve its communication. If you haven’t been in the classroom lately, drop by this week when you pick up your wonderful student.

Read More »

Tags: education, learning, school, service adoption, teaching, technology, vni, VNI-SA, VSA

With today’s announcement of the latest Visual Networking Index (VNI) research, I’m excited to kick-off a guest blogging series that will highlight the stories behind the complementary VNI Service Adoption Forecast.  This research predicts the future worldwide end user adoption for 27 services across residential, mobile and business categories.

These services range from SMS, mobile banking, location-based services, online gaming, consumer VoIP, mobile video, and many more. While this makes for interesting predictions on where technology will take us, it only generated more questions in my mind.

Read More »

Tags: broadband, research, visual networking index, vni, VNI-SA