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Politics : Formerly About Applied Materials -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Proud_Infidel who wrote (51863)	9/10/2001 7:02:38 PM
From: Sam Citron	Respond to of 70976

"50% of the worlds population lives on less that two dollars per day True, Brian. But the issue is not frivilous skins or fashion accessories but basic connectivity. You are correct to raise the affordability issue because it is the fundamental issue for most folks. But the world IS developing and as people and nations develop, they tend to demand more connectivity, in fact, some would call it an insatiable thirst. Cell phones are expensive and they are most expensive (as % of per capita income as well as nominally) in developing nations, where penetration is lowest and network costs are highest. But the marginal benefits of being connected are also the highest in such areas. Nations like China take proactive stance with regard to telecom investments because they know that telecom infrastructure is vital to development. Remember, costs decline rapidly with penetration and positive network externalities (benefits of being able to reach anyone, anytime) increase.