This Week in Global Mobile | October 15, 2010

At times it's difficult to keep pace with the latest global mobile developments. I hope this selection of news stories from the past week will help you navigate the growing global network of connectivity:

  • The Kenyan government launched a virtual court, which uses videoconferencing technology to allow litigants to appear electronically in court, in order to increase transparency reduce corruption.
  • Alec Ross, Secretary Clinton’s Senior Advisor for Innovation, reflects on the valuable role of technology in curbing drug-related violence in Ciudad Juarez. Also check out Sam's thoughts on new media and journalism in Mexico.
  • For the past 24 hours, the Manchester Police have been tweeting every 999 call (the British 911 equivalent) they receive to publicize the departments’ diverse efforts towards increasing safety.
  • The Egyptian government is set to impose new SMS restrictions in an attempt to reduce anti-regime activism during next month’s parliamentary elections.
  • The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation announced a $20 million initiative to fund Internet-based ventures aimed at improving low college graduation rates in the U.S.
  • European researchers have developed a prototype of a Body Area Network for the Android platform, which wirelessly transmits and displays electrocardiogram signals from sensors on the body to the handheld device.
  • A Nielsen report released yesterday indicates that American mobile-equipped teens use four times as much data per month as they did one year ago. They also text six times per waking hour -- nearly 4,000 each month.
  • The Colombian government promised to invest $159 million to bring digital television to all Colombian households via terrestrial and satellite connections.
  • India has extended until January 31 the deadline for BlackBerry’s manufacturer RIM to give the government full access to encrypted BBM messages sent among users in the country.
  • 175 million American Internet users watched online video a total of 5.2 billion times throughout the month of September, comScore reports.