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The challenge of nicts and their role in urban change
Gueye, Cheikh
Gueye, Cheikh
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gueyeeng.pdf
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Abstract
"The city often considered to be a sort of time-lapse snapshot of the changes occurring within a society is made up of a complex of powers, social interactions and material objects. It is regarded as the cradle of civilization: the innovative focal point from which technical progress is disseminated to the rest of the country. Information and communication, with their capacity to control power and people, are therefore important elements in this process. Today, cities are experiencing rapid and unprecedented changes in borders, citizenship and urban environment; new socioeconomic groups, influenced by new information and communications technologies (NICTs), are emerging from the shadows or reinventing themselves. Since the beginning of the century, cities have been the epicenter for the progressive penetration of information and communications technologies (ICTs) in Senegal. Could one argue, then, that these technologies are one and the same with urban life itself; that their success in the urban milieu is attributable to the fact that their networking capacity is inextricably linked to the essential nature of the city? Historically, Senegal has been highly receptive to changes on the world stage and has, for some time, gambled heavily on the potential of NICTs. The transistor, which brought revolutionary changes in urban and rural life, played a major role in the birth of nationalism and political awareness in Senegal. In an environment dominated by oral communication,1 State-controlled radio broadcasting has been a tool for the reproduction of power. What, then, is the social and political impact of liberalizing and transnationalizing the audiovisual media, and the impact of ending the State s control over tools of mass propaganda, such as radio and television? The Société Nationale des Télécommunications (SONATEL), Senegal s national telecommunications company one of West Africa s most successful companies and Senegal s second-largest business in total sales undertook a bold initiative, beginning in 1985, to develop telephone service. The telecommunications system, which was implemented gradually and consists of an all-digital fiber optic network providing extensive national coverage, is second to none in West Africa. SONATEL s 1992 decision to authorize private marketing of telephone service was an important step in bringing telephony to the population at large a process that has continued to expand usage to a mass scale."(pg 1)
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2002-05
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