This Week in Global Mobile | November 5, 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:
- 1.34 billion mobile handsets will be shipped world-wide in 2010, with the Asia-Pacific region leading the push, according to ABI Research.
- Chad hopes to increase mobile phone users from 100,000 to two million, thanks to a deal signed earlier this week between the government and a state-owned Libyan telecom provider.
- Yesterday the E.U. released a paper announcing intentions to update and improve cyber privacy laws throughout the Union as early as next year.
- Vodafone and the GSMA mWomen Programme announced the mWomen BOP (Base of the Pyramid) App Challenge to stimulate the creation of mobile apps to improve the lives of women living on less than $2/day in developing countries.
- Record-breaking Internet traffic per minute surpassed that of President Obama’s 2008 win during Tuesday’s midterm elections, according to Akamai.
- AT&T launched its own health care unit called AT&T ForHealth to deliver 21st-century technology solutions to the health care industry.
- The Kenyan government launched a breaking news SMS service, allowing citizens to receive latest news to their mobile phones “before the media manipulates it.”
- The Brazilian Supreme Court extended the Right of Reply to cyberspace, allowing presidential candidates to post their defense of opposition criticism on Twitter.
- MobileActive spoke with Christopher Mikkelson, co-founder of Refugees United, a service we blogged about earlier which helps refugees connect with each other using mobile tech.
- Twitter added 30 million users in the last two months, or roughly six new users every second -- while Facebook users tripled to 200 million over the last year.
- ComScore’s latest report explains how online video consumption dominates the Asian Internet audience.
- Nigerian telecom carrier Globacom announced the construction of a US$600 million undersea communications cable to increase bandwidth and reduce costs in the country.
- The U.K. Information Commissioner released a statement condemning Google’s breach of privacy by its Street View service, while Facebook representatives defended the social media company’s privacy practices before U.S. Congress.
- Joining Facebook and Google, Twitter just filled a full-time position in Washington D.C. in a move indicative of social media’s growing political influence.
- Josh Wood explores Lebanon’s increasing crackdowns on Internet Freedom in his latest piece in the New York Times.
- And finally, a look at how crisis-mapping platform Ushahidi was used yet again to monitor elections, this time in last week’s presidential vote in Tanzania.
- Samhir Vasdev's blog
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