Using the Mobile Web in Development
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W3C: Leading the Web to its Full Potential
Founded by Web inventor Tim Berners-Lee in 1994
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- W3C Vision: Universal Web Access: The Web Anywhere, for
Everyone, at Anytime, on Everything :
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- 1994: Creation of W3C for standardization and
interoperability of Web technologies
- 1997: Creation of the Web Accessibility
Initiative (WAI): To make the Web Accessible
- 2005: Creation of the Mobile Web Initiative
(MWI): To Access the Web from Mobile Phones
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Mobile Web for Development
- Since 2006: W3C explores how the Web on mobile phones could be a
potential solution to bridge the Digital Divide and leverage Web access
in Developing Countries
ICT to sustain development
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Primary Goal: offer a scalable and affordable platform to develop
and deploy eServices:
- Government Services
- Education
- Health
- Banking
- Communities services
- Business
- ...
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| (Photo Source: Der
Spiegel) |
How to provide access to ICT?
- With cheap laptops and mesh networking: One Laptop Per Child?
- With specific/special phones: Microsoft FonePlus?
- With the Mobile Web:
- Taking advantage of the existing 2.7+billion of mobile phones
- Taking advantage of the GSM cover (>80% of the world
population)
Today: SMS Applications
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- Successful Mobile Applications
- Banking
- NGOs-run SMS based system: e-gov, business (market poll),
health, ...
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- But few problems:
- Interoperability problems
- Discoverability of services
- limited interaction
- costly/inappropriate infrastructure
- no standardized development kit
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| (Photo Source: Vodafone) |
Tomorrow?
- The Mobile Web: the platform to leverage services development,
deployment and adoption:
- No interoperability problems
- Discoverability through portals and search engine
- Enhanced interaction through forms/voice/multimodal interaction
- Cheap/free hosting
- Standardized technologies and development platform
Challenges
- How to make the Mobile Web usable ?
- accessibility of mobile browsers: configuration, interface and
interaction...
- accessibility of web content: "natural" interface and
interaction...
- How to identify the needs in ICT-based services to leverage development
?
- How to empower people, build local capacity, and leverage local content
authoring ?
- What about sustainability ? how to develop entrepreneurship ?
Next Steps
W3C to launch a new group to in April/May 2008:
- Create an inter-disciplinary forum between experts in technology (Web,
Mobile), experts in Social Development, experts in sustainability and
entrepreneurship, people with grassroot experiences, and experts from
Developing regionss
- Identify the challenges of using the Mobile Web in Development projects
and establish a roadmap
- Develop resources for the community (directory of key actors,
repository of informations about mobile infrastructure and device market
in Developing Countries,...)
W3C to organize a workshop on the Potential for Mobile Technology to
Foster Development in Rural Communities
- When: beginning of June 2008
- Where: Brazil, most probably Sao Paulo
- Who: anybody interested, position paper required
- Stay tuned on March 11 2008, W3C Press Release
Conclusion
- W3C Goal: to make the Web accessible, relevant, usable and useful for
under-privileged populations and rural communities
- The Mobile Web is the most promising platform for low-cost large scale
development, deployment and adoption of ICTs
- Join the process of gathering the critical mass of experts to start the
work
This work is part of the Digital World Forum project
supported by the European Union's 7th Research Framework Programme (FP7)
