Our World

Cell Phones Cause Injuries In Africa

Africa lags behind other regions of the world. There are few traditional telephone lines. According to our text book (Globalization & Diversity) there are only 4 lines per 1,000 people in Nigeria. The expansion of mobile telephones in Africa allows people not to have to rely on expensive traditional landlines for communication. It is becoming more common for multinational cellular providers to compete in building out cellular networks in the region.

In recent news, it appears that the cell phone networks in the African region aren’t as good as they could be. Many Africans are adapting and becoming dependent on modern mobile phone technology. In the article, it seems that the available cellular networks aren’t very dense thus causing the coverage to be spotty. It seems that there isn’t enough infrastructure available in the region to support the demand. Oddly enough, people seem to be going out on a “limb” to find a usable signal for their cell phones. Literally, people are crawling trees to be able to use their cell phones. “A Ugandan author has coined the term "Nebrols," short for Network Broken Limbs Syndrome, to describe the injuries suffered from folks climbing things (usually trees) in an effort to get a bar or two of signal strength on their cell phones.” The people of Africa are finding ways to use the technology they are so dependant on. As the region grows hopefully the existing infrastructure grows so that people don’t kill themselves to be able to stay connected.

“Can You Hear Me Now?”

posted by Anonymous @ 10/30/2006 07:10:00 PM