Lessons from the Field: ICTs in Telecenters page 1 2 3 4 5


OVERVIEW

Telecenters are one of the most rapidly growing applications of ICTs in the developing world. Their rationale lies in shared-access models that allow provision of a wide range of services to more users at lower cost than privately-owned home or office computers which are often out of financial reach of poor people.

The definition of a telecenter is as varied as the activities that such a center can offer. Smaller telecenters usually include basic Internet service, and may also include access to fax, phone, and photocopying. Others may include targeted activities in education and training, health, e-commerce, e-government services and more. The physical composition of telecenters also varies widely. Common models include kiosks, school computer labs made available to the public after hours, multipurpose community telecenters, and mobile telecenters. Regardless of the different configurations, telecenters all have one common feature: they use IT to provide a range of services using a shared access model.

This article highlights the market intelligence the Digital Dividends project has gleaned from its research on telecenters. The data analyzed is composed of projects included in the Digital Dividend Clearinghouse which currently includes more than 200 telecenter initiatives, representing several thousand telecenters. Telecenters in the Clearinghouse are categorized by initiative, or project, not on total numbers of telecenters deployed as part of those initiatives. For example, some initiatives may only operate one multipurpose community telecenter, while others may deploy a network of hundreds of kiosks. While our data does not include all telecenters in existence, by examining a broad range of telecenters from around the globe, we hope to provide some interesting insights and trends about telecenters and their activities.

Telecenters by Funding/Managing Sector
The Clearinghouse categorizes telecenters by the organization that funds and/or manages it: for-profit, government, or non-profit. Based on these classifications, the majority of telecenters included in the Clearinghouse are non-profit, with about a quarter considered for-profit.

For-profit projects are set up by companies that aim to make a return on their investment.

Government projects are those that are initiated by a government or government agency and may or may not aim to achieve sustainability/profitability on an individual telecenter level.

Non-profit projects include those set up by foundations, international agencies, NGOs, and other civil society organizations. This category also includes those telecenters set up through corporate philanthropy.


Figure 1. Telecenter Initiatives by Sector


Distribution: Where are Telecenters Located?
The global distribution of telecenter projects generally follows the distribution of the universe of projects in the Clearinghouse. Asia and Africa have the highest numbers, reflecting the low teledensity that leads to a higher demand for telecenter services in these regions. Among countries, India (25%) and South Africa (8%) have the most telecenter projects.


Figure 2. Telecenter Initiatives by Region


The Clearinghouse only tracks projects that bring IT-enabled services to developing country populations. Projects listed as being located in North America and Europe are those that have headquarters in America or Europe but who work in developing countries.

The Digital Dividend ProjectFinder tool allows Clearinghouse users to see the geographic distribution of telecenter projects. On the map, each initiative is represented by a dot that is color-coded based on sector: green for non-profit, red for government, and blue for for-profit. If more than one project exists in the same location, the dots overlap, with the dot for the most recently-added initiative visible on top. A colored marker may therefore indicate more than one project: the Indian city of Bangalore, for instance, is actually home to seven different initiatives (three for-profit, three non-profit, and one government).


Figure 3. Telecenter Initiative Distribution in Asia, Africa, and Latin America

In South Africa, the majority of Clearinghouse-listed telecenter projects are clustered in the Gauteng province, which includes the Johannesburg and Pretoria areas.


Figure 4. Telecenter Initiatives in South Africa

In India, telecenter projects can be found throughout the country. Particularly large concentrations are located around the southern cities of Bangalore and Madras, an area sometimes referred to as the "Silicon Valley of India."


Figure 5. Telecenter Initiatives in India

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