This Week in Global Mobile | December 10, 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:

  • On Monday the Treasury Department launched its new website in an effort to “increase Treasury’s abilities to communicate with the public in a transparent and open manner.”"
  • The United Nations teamed up with Cisco Systems in Togo to provide a state-of-the-art ICT training center to help Togolese youth "establish exciting and well-paid careers in the booming ICT sector."
  • Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced a “tech del” focused on female innovators in Sierra Leone and Liberia.
  • Internet access is slowly but steadily rising in Latin America, according to latest data from Nielsen, with Columbia ranked as the number one fastest-growing market.
  • After months of negotiations, BlackBerry maker RIM agreed to provide the Indian government with access to its encrypted messenger service.
  • Google and Amazon each launched a new eBook service, offering access to millions of books over a unique Internet-based system that stores books on the “cloud.” eBook readers around the world should number 30 million by 2013.
  • At Georgetown University, surgeons are using iPads in the operating room to help them access a wide array of medical data, images, and process during operations.
  • CNN’s iReport, a segment which allows viewers to submit their own videos and stories of events, has received reports from every country in the world (except for Nauru).
  • The Indian government demanded an audit of all federal websites in order to make its official Web presence more secure and resistant to cyber attacks.
  • The Economist published an insightful article about The Future Of The Internet, concluding that the Internet must stop devolving into a “collection of proprietary islands” which stifles innovation.
  • Yesterday C.T.O. Aneesh Chopra announced ExpertNet, a “next generation citizen consultation” system which looks to experts in the public to inform federal government decision-making.
  • An international group of researchers analyzed 12 billion landline phone calls in the U.K., creating a fascinating map of Britons' connections.
  • Skype teamed up with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees to provide low-bandwidth video conferencing to UNHCR workers around the world.