The global economy is built on modern technology, particularly the internet. The developing world and countries with limited access to the World Wide Web are often considered to be behind their Western counterparts when it comes to joining the technology revolution, but all of that is gradually changing.
The growth of Telecommunications in Developing Nations
Thanks in part to the growing reach of the internet, better access to smart phones and other electronic devices, and the money that is being pumped into the telecommunications industry by entrepreneurs and visionaries, developing economies are now experiencing something of a technological revolution. Indeed, countries such as those located in the Middle East, Africa, and South America, as well as India, have reported a steadily growing number of people that are able to access the internet. It is estimated that 403.1 million citizens across the Middle East and Africa alone will be using the internet in one way or another by 2016, while the former has demonstrated the highest internet user growth out of any developing region. As well as seemingly shrinking the world and allowing people to communicate with increasing ease, this access to such technology is revolutionizing the ways that developing countries are able to trade. Ecommerce is now used in a growing number of countries, helping to support their economies like never before. This amazing change and the opportunities that it brings is down to the development of telecommunication networks, which enable technology to be used much more freely and with more clarity. The internet simply couldn’t exist, or at least not to this strength, without such systems in place.
Improvements to the Telecommunications Infrastructure
While the internet was once as far removed from the Middle East’s geopolitical landscape as you can get, it is now helping to improve communication between countries and the rest of the world, changing ideologies, and closing the gap between developing nations and the Western world. As economies expand, so too do the opportunities available to those living in areas such as the Middle East, South American nations, and India. Of course, this incredible growth could never be possible without the work of key players in the telecommunications industry, including Ehsanollah Bayat, an entrepreneur who founded the Afghan Wireless Communication Company, now known as Afghan Wireless, following the fall of the Taliban in 2002. Already part of an influential family, which held power in the commercial sector in Afghanistan, Ehsanollah has worked tirelessly to improve the telecoms network within his country and those that surround it, as well as launching the Ariana Television Network, which broadcasts a range of programs. Ehsanollah’s telecommunications company provides GSM services to Afghanistan’s four main cities, Kandahar, Kabul, Herat, and Mazar-i-Sharif, improving the ways in which people communicate, encouraging the growth of economies, and developing the technological infrastructure of the country. In short, the work of businesspeople like Ehsanollah is helping to shrink the developing world, putting it in contact with the West, and revolutionizing the ways in which people do business.
While the Middle East, South American nations, and India, as well as numerous other countries considered to be economically developing, were once playing a serious game of catch-up with regards to technology, the growth of telecommunication networks and the hard work of a few key players is bringing about a revolution like no other. Developing countries are now able to communicate with the rest of the world, join in with economic debates, and improve their standing on the global commerce scale. The internet, it seems, does truly have the power to shrink the world.