Microsoft, MTN promise affordable broadband

Cellular network operator MTN and software giant Microsoft are partnering to bring affordable wireless broadband connectivity and PC access to consumers in SA, Microsoft founder and chairman Bill Gates said in Cape Town today.

He said the two companies will work together to provide affordable finance options for consumers purchasing Internet connectivity and an Intel PC running Microsoft Windows Starter Edition.

According to a Microsoft statement, the program will make purchasing a computer and Internet connectivity more affordable, and thus more broadly accessible for the average consumer.

"By supporting partners delivering more affordable Internet access, Microsoft is enabling access to technology to expand opportunities that help citizens in emerging technology markets access the social and economic benefits of the global IT industry," the statement said.

Speaking at the Microsoft Government Leaders Forum, Gates and former US President Bill Clinton gave African government leaders a vision of what technology could do to transform their countries and, at the same time, warned about the consequences.

Attending the conference were the presidents and senior ministers of a number of African countries, including SA.

Both men talked about the enabling aspects of technology, how it could empower people, transform economies and the fact that it made efficient use of resources could help circumvent traditional problems in health and education.

Gates specifically mentioned that, while the cost of computing had fallen dramatically, the cost of interconnection remained high throughout the world.

"Even in the US, the connection cost of around $40 per month means that the value of the computer is already met in the first year. In developing countries, the situation is much worse as many people have to pay really high connection fees and in some cases there is no connection at all," he said.

Gates continued: "We are currently testing new technologies such as a wireless approach over long distances that can provide high connection speeds at very low cost. Frequencies in under-developed countries are still readily available and so this technology can provide an inexpensive solution."

Clinton spoke about the role of IT in education.

"Lets be candid about this. Even if the economies of developing countries improve radically, that the developed nations meet their millennium aid obligations and spending increases, there will still not be enough resources to meet the education needs of the people if the old fashioned methods are used," he said.

Rather, Clinton advocated the use of IT in which classrooms are equipped with computers and are connected to the Internet from which course work can be downloaded by a student.

Cinton`s warning was about how technology can be also used by the citizens of a country to change its government`s stance.

"Some years ago, the SARS virus (severe acute respiratory syndrome) first broke out in China and then spread via Hong Kong to Toronto, Canada. At first, the Chinese government denied that any problem existed and were totally uncooperative.

"But then a wonderful thing happened. Young people in China protested, not in Tiananmen Square, but by jamming the official government Web sites. The Chinese government then turned on a dime and a potentially massive epidemic was averted," he said.