Emerging countries may end up losing the chance to take advantage of information technology due to lack of infrastructure for broadband, said an agency of the United Nations (UN). The lack of access to the Internet deprives these countries of the possibility of developing an industry of outsourced services, said the trade and development agency of the UN, UNCTAD.

Inequality in broadband “is becoming a major disadvantage to companies in many poorer countries,” it said during a presentation to launch the Information Economy Report UNCTAD. Companies and consumers have 200 times more likely to have broadband access in developed countries than the poorest least developed countries of the world, the report said.

And the cost of broadband also is a huge difference – more than $ 1300 in Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, compared to a price of less than $ 13 in Egypt and Tunisia. Broadband is essential for the industry of outsourced services such as call centers, a sector that many African, Caribbean and Asian countries intend to develop and expand.

With high-speed Internet, consumers can enjoy more of their phones – which are quickly outgrowing the computers as the main tool of information technology and communication in developing countries.

People in poorer countries are increasingly using their cell phones to banking, to check market movements and to keep an eye on the weather – which reduces the need to travel and thus boosts productivity, UNCTAD noted.

Via: Terra.