Brookings: Topics - Mobile Technology

Mobile Technology’s Role in Combating Global Poverty and Enabling Entrepreneurship

Thu, 16 May 2013 14:00:00 -0400

Event Information

May 16, 2013
2:00 PM - 3:30 PM EDT

Falk Auditorium
Brookings Institution
1775 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20036

According to the World Bank, nearly one-quarter of the global population lives at or below the poverty line of $1.25 per day. The world’s poor experience barriers to lifting themselves out of poverty because of the lack of access to capital to start small businesses and build personal savings. Yet with the growth of mobile technology, there are now new avenues for individuals to improve their economic circumstances, make monetary transfers, arrange for microfinance loans or establish small enterprises.

On May 16, as part of the Mobile Economy Project, the Center for Technology Innovation at Brookings hosted a forum to investigate the barriers to using mobile devices to conduct business in the developing world, explored how mobile devices enable individual entrepreneurship and small business development and examined mobile technology’s role in alleviating global poverty.

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Mobile Technology’s Role in Combating Global Poverty and Enabling Entrepreneurship

Alleviating Poverty: Mobile Communications, Microfinance and Small Business Development Around the World

Darrell M. West — Thu, 16 May 2013 12:00:00 -0400

Editor’s Note: The Center for Technology Innovation at Brookings releases this paper in conjunction with the May 16 forum at Brookings, “Mobile Technology’s Role in Combating Global Poverty and Enabling Entrepreneurship.” Both are part of the wider Mobile Economy Project which examines how the rapid expansion of mobile technology around the world is transforming economic opportunity for millions.

Poverty is one of the most pressing problems around the world. According to statistics from the World Bank, nearly one-quarter of the global population lives at or below the poverty line of $1.25 per day.[i] With so many people struggling for basic subsistence, it is hard for those affected to get out of poverty, gain access to capital, or develop small firms or businesses that help them build a better life.

Yet with the growth of mobile technology, there are new opportunities for individuals and small businesses to lift themselves up. People can use handheld devices to make monetary transfers, arrange for microfinance loans, establish small enterprises, and improve their economic circumstances. This helps them alleviate poverty and create a better situation for themselves and their families.

Jeffrey Sachs, director of Columbia University's Earth Institute, said that wireless communication is a breakthrough technology that helps to solve the worst problems associated with health care, poverty, and educational access. "Now in every village where I go, someone's got a cell phone, somebody can make an emergency call, someone can find out the price on the market, someone can start a business empowered by the fact that they can reach a customer or a supplier, someone can drive a taxi or a truck for that reason as well. Everything is changing," said Sachs.[ii]

In this Mobile Economy Project report, Darrell West looks at the growth of handheld devices and investigates the barriers to doing business in the developing world. In particular, West explores how mobile devices enable individual entrepreneurship and small business development. Despite the presence of barriers such as corruption, lack of transparency and capital, and poor infrastructure in many parts of the developing world, there are successful ventures enabled by mobile technology.

The report details some of the cases which illustrate emerging possibilities for alleviating poverty in different countries including:

The growth of mobile devices
Mobile money transfer services
Mobile tools for small businesses
Microfinance applications

[i] World Bank data is found at http://povertydata.worldbank.org/poverty/home/.

[ii] Kyla Yeoman, “Can Mobile Phones End Extreme Poverty?”, Global Envision, March 16, 2012.

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Authors

Darrell M. West

Image Source: © Mike Hutchings / Reuters

Education Technology: The Next Generation

Wed, 20 Mar 2013 14:00:00 -0400

Event Information

March 20, 2013
2:00 PM - 3:30 PM EDT

Falk Auditorium
Brookings Institution
1775 Massachusetts Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20036

Education technology is an accepted and integral component of reforming and improving the American educational system. The educational possibilities made possible by today's technology and mobile devices are expansive, with mobile phones apps, interactive games, distance learning programs, and environment software readily available to most students and teachers in the United States. Now that these tools are a common feature in the classroom, how can technology’s integration in education be expanded to best benefit students? How can educators incorporate the latest technologies to improve education and assess what proves effective? What future innovations can be expected in educational technology?

On March 20, Governance Studies at Brookings hosted a public forum to discuss the next generation of education technologies. A panel of experts discussed recent advances in educational technology and what new innovations are on the horizon. Participants can join the conversation on Twitter at hashtag #TechCTI.

Read the related paper: Education Technology Success Stories, by Darrell West and Joshua Bleiberg

Mobile Money: A Technology Game Changer for Tackling Global Poverty?

Laurence Chandy — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 13:00:00 -0400

Mobile money—the ability to store and transfer money using cell phones—is one of the most talked-about technologies in global development. Proponents believe it could redefine what it means to be poor by giving poor people access to basic financial services.

In Kenya, where two-thirds of the population live on less than $2 a day, mobile money is now ubiquitous and has enjoyed outstanding adoption rates among low-income customers. Early evidence indicates it is already changing lives. For Safaricom, the leading provider of the service in Kenya, mobile money—or M-Pesa, as its product is called—has contributed directly to the company’s bottom line, while strengthening its market share.

Mobile phone operators are now tripping over each other to roll out similar services in other developing countries, from Afghanistan to Zambia. Intuitively, we would expect these to match, if not better, M-Pesa’s record of success by learning from M-Pesa’s experiences. So far that hasn’t happened. While a number of offerings in different countries are now taking root, none have so far matched the speed and scale of M-Pesa in Kenya. Others have failed miserably.

The video above chronicles M-Pesa’s pioneering story in Kenya and delves into the question of why its success has not been easily replicated elsewhere. We discussed this and other technological innovations for development last year at the Brookings Blum Roundtable—a high-level conference held each summer to discuss solutions to global poverty. To read more about the challenges of replicating M-Pesa, and the propagation of other innovations in the developing world, please read the 2012 conference report.

Authors

Laurence Chandy

Eye-Tracking Smartphones Have Arrived. What About the Privacy Implications?

John Villasenor — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 00:00:00 -0500

Last March, I wrote in Slate about eye-tracking, which could allow computers and smartphones of the future to collect information not only about what we read, but how we read it.

It appears that the future has arrived. The Samsung Galaxy S IV, which is slated for introduction next week, will reportedly include an eye-tracking feature to make it easier to scroll pages without physically touching the screen. Some people will view this as an added convenience, and for people with certain types of disabilities, navigating by eye-movement can be a vitally important way to interact with objects on a screen.

But there's also something a bit chilling about the prospect that our mobile devices might be watching us while we’re watching them. After all, there is information in what our eyes do when they scan a page. Where do they linger? What do they skip?

In a world where there is potential marketing and advertising value in every scrap of data about how we interact with our devices, it is hard to imagine that this rich new source of information will go untapped. It probably won't be long before terms of service for some mobile apps get revised to allow collection and resale of eye-tracking data. Clicking "accept" when downloading a new app may mean agreeing to have your eye movements sent to the cloud, analyzed, aggregated with other data collected from your device, and then resold into the mobile marketing ecosystem.

For the traditionalists among us who—how quaint!—prefer to keep our eye movements to ourselves when reading, there will presumably be an option to turn the tracking function off. But will turning it off mean that the smartphone stops tracking our eye movements altogether? Or that it still tracks them, but just doesn’t use the resulting information to alter the display on the screen? And, if history is any guide, there will be some third-party apps that "accidentally" collect eye movement information anyway, even when users explicitly request otherwise.

As I wrote last March, in a world without eye-tracking, our thoughts when we read something are largely our own, and we should enjoy it while it lasts. It looks like the curtain on one more form of privacy may be coming down a lot sooner than most of us expected.

This piece originally appeared at Slate.com.

Authors

John Villasenor

Publication: Slate.com

Image Source: © Stoyan Nenov / Reuters

Invention and the Mobile Economy

Darrell M. West — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 15:00:00 -0500

In this paper released in conjunction with a Mobile Economy Project panel discussion, Darrell West argues the importance of invention to mobile communications and demonstrates that the mobile industry is one of our most vibrant drivers of economic development.

Highlights include:

• Examples of key inventors: West seeks to understand how to sustain invention and draws lessons for encouraging the critical innovation needed for future development.

• How different countries handle invention: In comparing and contrasting other countries as well as the United States, West adds perspective and paints a global invention landscape.

• Ways to facilitate invention: A number of factors affect the quantity and quality of invention (including but not limited to research and development, the quality of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education, the nature of immigration, and the patent system. West emphasizes how we should maintain a culture of invention to encourage future prosperity.

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Darrell M. West

Invention and the Mobile Economy

Tue, 05 Mar 2013 15:00:00 -0500

Event Information

March 5, 2013
3:00 PM - 4:30 PM EST

Falk Auditorium
Brookings Institution
1775 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20036

In the 40 years since the creation of the cell phone, creative engineers have developed a range of new products that enable mobile activity. From cellular networks and microchips to batteries and antennas, invention has been a big part of mobile technology, resulting in an industry that has become a vibrant driver of economic development. The mobile industry contributes significantly to GDP growth and job creation around the globe. In many countries, mobile is among the fastest-growing business areas. With mobile devices spreading at a rapid pace, it is important to understand how progress has been made and how government and business can facilitate continued development.

On March 5, as part of the Mobile Economy Project, Governance Studies at Brookings hosted an event focusing on key inventors, how different countries encourage and protect invention, and barriers that need to be overcome in order to promote mobile invention. A panel of experts discussed the culture of invention that has propelled the mobile industry to the economic forefront.

Read Darrell West's related paper»

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Mobile Technology: A Change Agent in the United States and Across the Globe

Thu, 13 Dec 2012 09:00:00 -0500

Event Information

December 13, 2012
9:00 AM - 12:00 PM EST

Falk Auditorium
Brookings Institution
1775 Massachusetts Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20036

Mobile technology has revolutionized how we communicate with one another, but is also transforming the world in the areas of culture, education, banking and personal finances, and politics. How is mobile technology being used to engage voters, raise money, deliver candidate messages, and help reporters cover campaigns domestically and globally? What is mobile technology’s impact on different populations, ethnic groups and communities? Which countries are best leveraging mobile innovations to enable democracy and empower citizens? In which countries is the impact of mobile greatest, and which policies have proven the most effective and should be replicated in other countries?

On December 13, Governance Studies at Brookings hosted an event focused on the powerful influence of mobile technology in the United States and around the world. This forum is part the Mobile Economy Project, which examines how the rapid expansion of mobile technology around the world is transforming economic opportunity for millions of people. A panel of experts examined the sociological, governmental and economic effects of mobile technology’s sudden growth in the United States as well as in developing countries.

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Mobile Technology: A Change Agent in the United States and Across the Globe

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How Mobile Technology is Driving Global Entrepreneurship

Darrell M. West — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 09:00:00 -0400

Darrell West examines mobile entrepreneurship’s key role in expanding opportunities for social and economic development around the world. Examining places like Nigeria, Egypt, and Indonesia, West notes that micro-entrepreneurs generate 38 percent of the gross domestic product, generating new ideas, business models, and ways of selling goods and services.

As part of the Center for Technology Innovation's Mobile Economy Project, West analyzes the importance of wireless technology for entrepreneurship, how mobile improves access to capital and market information, how it helps entrepreneurs serve broader geographic areas and reach new customers, the manner in which it empowers women and the disadvantaged, and the way mobile payments stimulate economic development.

West offers policy recommendations that outline the steps needed to overcome current barriers to m-entrepreneurship.

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How Mobile Technology is Driving Global Entrepreneurship

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Image Source: © Akintunde Akinleye / Reuters

Mobile Entrepreneurship around the World

Tue, 23 Oct 2012 10:00:00 -0400

Event Information

October 23, 2012
10:00 AM - 11:30 AM EDT

Falk Auditorium
Brookings Institution
1775 Massachusetts Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20036

Entrepreneurship is crucial for economic development around the world. In places such as Nigeria, Egypt, and Indonesia, micro-entrepreneurs generate 38 percent of the gross domestic product. Data studies show that small businesses create a disproportionate share of new jobs, generating innovative ideas, business models, and methods for selling goods and services.

Mobile devices are invaluable tools for entrepreneurs to overcome the challenges of doing business. They help people communicate with one another, access market information, sell products across geographic areas, reach new consumers, access mobile payment systems, and empower women and the disadvantaged.

On October 23, the Center for Technology Innovation at Brookings hosted a discussion on how mobile entrepreneurship improves the opportunities for social and economic development around the world. Moderated by Vice President Darrell West, a panel of experts examined innovative examples of mobile entrepreneurship and its impact on business income, how mobile technology can boost overall development, and how to overcome barriers to mobile entrepreneurship. Darrell West also released a paper on the topic at the event.

After the program, speakers took audience questions.

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Fostering Internet Competition

Wed, 10 Oct 2012 10:00:00 -0400

Event Information

October 10, 2012
10:00 AM - 11:30 AM EDT

Falk Auditorium
Brookings Institution
1775 Massachusetts Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20036

The Internet is the dominant platform for communications, electronic commerce, and entrepreneurship, generating 4.1 percent of Gross Domestic Product and, in some countries, double that figure. By 2016, it is estimated that the digital economy will account for $4.2 trillion among G-20 nations, up from $2.3 trillion in 2010.

To meet the challenges of an ever-evolving Internet, it will be vital to maintain competitive practices that foster its continued growth and viability. New business models to fuel Internet competition – based on combinations of open or closed platforms, licensing agreements, partnerships and leveraging strategies – continue to emerge. This plethora of options across services, platforms, and business models must be evaluated to determine their potential effectiveness.

On October 10, the Center for Technology Innovation at Brookings (CTI) hosted an event exploring policies to maintain Internet competition. Moderated by Vice President and Director of Governance Studies and CTI Director Darrell West, a panel of experts discussed policy recommendations that encourage innovation without stifling competition.

You can follow the conversation on this event on Twitter using the hashtag #TechCTI.

Related Paper:
How to Maintain a Competitive Internet, by Darrell M. West and Elizabeth Valentini

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Riding the Mobile Wave: The Future of Mobile Computing

Fri, 05 Oct 2012 10:00:00 -0400

Event Information

October 5, 2012
10:00 AM - 11:30 AM EDT

Falk Auditorium
Brookings Institution
1775 Massachusetts Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20036

In his new book The Mobile Wave: How Mobile Intelligence Will Change Everything (Vanguard Press, 2012), CEO of MicroStrategy Michael Saylor examines the transformative possibilities of mobile computing on business, society, economies and everyday life. Saylor argues that mobile technologies such as smartphones and tablet computers – “the fifth wave of computer technology” – will be indispensible tools for modern life and completely alter how we live.

On October 5, the Center for Technology Innovation at Brookings hosted a forum on mobile computing and its monumental impact on our future. Moderated by Vice President Darrell West, Michael Saylor discussed key highlights from his book and offered insights as to what sort of change we can expect from the macro level down to the most mundane of everyday humans tasks.

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Brookings Blum Roundtable: Innovation and Technology for Development

Wed, 01 Aug 2012 08:40:00 -0400

Event Information

August 1-3, 2012

Aspen, Colorado

Global development challenges are of massive scale: 61 million children out of school and many more failing to learn basic literacy and numeracy skills; 850 million facing hunger; 1 billion living in slums and 1.3 billion without access to electricity. Yet remarkably little is understood about successful strategies for designing scalable solutions, the impediments to reaching scale, or the most appropriate pathways for getting there.

However, a batch of new technologies offers the promise of a breakthrough by encouraging innovative business models, pushing down transaction costs and disintermediating complex activities. Mobile money could realistically reach over 1 billion poor people in the next decade and directly connect millions of rich individuals with millions of poor people. Real-time data can allow resources to be better targeted and managed. New media can sharpen accountability and reduce waste and overlap.

On August 1-3, Brookings Global Economy and Development hosted the ninth annual Brookings Blum Roundtable on Global Poverty in Aspen, Colorado. This year’s roundtable theme, "Innovation and Technology for Development", brought together global leaders, entrepreneurs and practioners to discuss how technology and innovation can be seized to help solve some of the world's most pressing global development challenges.

ROUNDTABLE AGENDA

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Welcome: 8:40AM - 9:00AM
Brookings Welcome
• Strobe Talbott, Brookings

Opening Remarks
• Richard C. Blum, Blum Capital Partners, LP and Founder of the Blum Center for Developing Economies at Berkeley
• Mark Suzman, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
• Kemal Derviş, Global Economy and Development, Brookings

Session I: 9:00AM - 10:30AM
Framing Session: Translating Technological Innovations into Transformational Impact
In this opening discussion, participants will explore the overarching questions for the roundtable: If the poor can readily be identified and if they have access to financial services and participate in technology-driven communication networks, how does this change the development paradigm? How can effective partnerships be forged to combine the efforts of different international and local actors (businesses, governments, foundations, NGOs, and universities) in propagating solutions? Can scalable technologies raise the profile and potential of new business models, approaches and partnerships?

Moderator
• Homi Kharas, Brookings

Introductory Remarks
• Thomas A. Kalil, White House Office of Science and Technology
• Michael Kubzansky, Monitor Group
• Lalitesh Katragadda, Google India
• Smita Singh, Independent

Session II: 10:50AM - 12:20PM
Mobile Money and Mass Payments
Participants will explore the following questions for the rountable: Is the rapid uptake of mobile money/payment technology throughout the developing world assured and if not, what (or whom) are the impediments? What is required to enable successful mass payments systems that employ mobile money technology? What is the optimal role of government, non-profits and private actors in supporting mobile money services? How can mass payments systems be used to implement national safety nets?

Moderator
• Gillian Tett, Financial Times

Introductory Remarks
• Neal Keny-Guyer, Mercy Corps
• Mwangi Kimenyi, Brookings
• Mung Ki Woo, MasterCard Worldwide Group Executive Mobile

Dinner Program: 7:30PM - 9:15PM
Aspen Institute Madeleine K. Albright Global Development Lecture

Featuring
• Rajiv Shah, Administrator, United States Agency for International Development

Click here to read Rajiv Shah's remarks »

Thursday, August 2, 2012

Session III: 9:00AM - 10:30AM
Mass Networks: Leveraging Information from the Crowd
Participants will explore the following questions for the rountable: What are the most promising examples of using social media, crowdsourcing and “big data” to advance development and humanitarian outcomes? How can traditional foreign assistance make use of virtual networks to support transparency, democratic governance and improved service delivery? How can technologies be used to understand clients, promote beneficiary feedback and learning to fine tune business models in base of the pyramid markets?

Moderator
• Walter Isaacson, Aspen Institute

Introductory Remarks
• Anne-Marie Slaughter, Princeton University
• Juliana Rotich, Ushahidi
• Robert Kirkpatrick, UN Global Pulse Initiative
• Rakesh Rajani, Twaweza

Session IV: 10:50AM - 12:20PM
Innovation and Technology for Green Growth
Participants will explore the following questions for the rountable: How advanced is green growth technology vis-à-vis the scale and urgency of the global climate challenge? What is the role of pricing and intellectual property and push and pull mechanisms in speeding up propagation within developed and developing markets? How can the goal of “sustainable energy for all” be achieved, and is it feasible in all countries?

Moderator
• Al Gore, The Climate Reality Project

Introductory Remarks
• Mary Robinson, Mary Robinson Foundation - Climate Justice
• Helen Clark, United Nations Development Programme
• Arthur Njagi, International Finance Corporation
• Viswanathan Shankar, Standard Chartered Bank

Lunch Program: 12:30PM - 2:00PM
Partnering with Academic Research Institutions
This discussion will explore partnerships between public sector development institutions and academic research institutions to support global development goals. Topics will include the constraints to research; how to make research more relevant to developing country problems; issues around incentives for scientists and universities; and relationships between universities, financiers and implementers.

Moderator
• Javier Solana, ESADE

Panel
• Richard C. Blum, Blum Capital Partners, LP and Founder of the Blum Center for Developing Economies at Berkeley
• Luis Alberto Moreno, Inter-American Development Bank
• Shankar Sastry, University of California, Berkeley
• Alex Deghan, United States Agency for International Development

Friday, August 3, 2012

Session V: 9:00AM - 10:30AM
Business Solutions and Private Sector Development
Participants will explore the following questions for the rountable: What role can the new breed of socially conscious private actors (e.g., social enterprises and impact investors) play in overcoming finance and delivery constraints and scaling up development impact? Where is the need for investment finance most acute, and who or what can fill these gaps? How are management approaches evolving to suit base of the pyramid markets? What are the impediments to the adoption or adaptation of scalable technologies by developing country enterprises, and are southern innovations being efficiently spread? What is constraining private sector development in Africa, and is technology a key bottleneck?

Moderator
• Laura Tyson, University of California, Berkeley

Introductory Remarks
• Rob Mosbacher, Mosbacher Energy Company
• Mathews Chikaonda, Press Corporation Limited
• Elizabeth Littlefield, Overseas Private Investment Corporation
• Amy Klement, Omidyar Network

Session VI: 10:50AM - 12:20PM
Delivering U.S. Leadership: Role for the Public Sector
Participants will explore the following questions for the rountable: What is an appropriate role for the U.S. government in promoting technological solutions for development and scaling these up? How should the government leverage new private sector players? What are the best examples of, and lessons learned from, earlier and on-going public private partnerships? How can the U.S. government work more effectively to support local innovation and technology in developing countries?

Moderator
• Sylvia Burwell, Walmart Foundation

Introductory Remarks
• Rajiv Shah, Administrator, United States Agency for International Development
• Sam Worthington, InterAction
• Henrietta Fore, Holsman International

Closing Remarks: 12:20PM - 12:30PM

• Richard C. Blum, Blum Capital Partners, LP and Founder of the Blum Center for Developing Economies at Berkeley
• Kemal Derviş, Global Economy and Development, Brookings

Lunch Program: 12:30PM - 2:00PM
A Conversation with Michael Froman and Thomas Nides
This conversation will focus on the politics and finance of the US government’s efforts on global development, including its specific initiatives regarding technology and innovation for development.

Moderator
• Madeleine K. Albright, Albright Stronebridge Group

Live Webcast Event: 4:00PM - 5:30PM
Brookings and the Aspen Institute Present: "A Conversation with Former World Bank President Robert Zoellick"

Global Economy and Development at Brookings and the Aspen Strategy Group will host Robert Zoellick, who recently stepped down as president of the World Bank after serving in that office for the past five years. Mr. Zoellick has held several senior positions in the U.S. Government, including deputy secretary of state and U.S. trade representative under President George W. Bush. This event will be webcast live on the Brookings website. Click here for more details.

Introduction
• R. Nicholas Burns, Director, Aspen Strategy Group and Professor of the Practice of Diplomacy and International Politics, Harvard Kennedy School of Government

Moderator
• Strobe Talbott, President, Brookings

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Adding Fuel to the Wi-Fire: What is the Nexus between Social Media, Emerging Technologies and Digital Radicalization?

Tue, 17 Jul 2012 13:00:00 -0400

Event Information

July 17, 2012
1:00 PM - 2:30 PM EDT

Falk Auditorium
Brookings Institution
1775 Massachusetts Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20036

There’s little doubt that the technological revolution currently underway, not to mention many of its social media byproducts—Facebook, Google, and Twitter to name just a few—has transformed modern life for the better. But in an age of proliferating data, smart phones and internet literacy, extremist messaging can reach more susceptible and receptive audiences than any time in the past. The next chapter of global jihad will assuredly see more “digital natives” in positions of authority, eager to take advantage of the proliferating modes of global communication.

On July 17, the 21st Century Defense Initiative at Brookings hosted technologist and Wired editor at large Ben Hammersley. One of the world’s most original thinkers on technology trends, Hammersley’s work has crossed war correspondence and technological innovation, reporting from war zones that range from Afghanistan to Mindanao, while also writing on key technology developments, including first coining the term “podcasting.” Hammersly discussed the security implications that new online technologies pose as well as offered his thoughts on the role of government in countering extremism in the digital age.

Senior Fellow Peter W. Singer, director of the 21st Century Defense Initiative at Brookings, provided introductory remarks and moderated the discussion.

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Improving Spectrum Access Through Reverse Auctions

Fri, 15 Jun 2012 13:30:00 -0400

Event Information

June 15, 2012
1:30 PM - 3:00 PM EDT

Falk Auditorium
Brookings Institution
1775 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20036

Demand for mobile broadband will soon outpace the amount of available wireless spectrum. In its national broadband plan, the Federal Communication Commission called for 500 megahertz of new wireless spectrum, 300 megahertz of which, the FCC specified, should be freed up within the next five years. Despite government and industry recognition of the coming spectrum crisis, a number of the reforms needed to increase wireless broadband capacity remain unfinished and unaddressed. Reverse government auctions have been identified as the most expedient and cost-effective way to combat this imminent crisis, but what are the implementation and transactional challenges associated with this policy move? What are the merits of reverse auctions versus other spectrum policy ideas?

On June 15, the Center for Technology Innovation at Brookings hosted a forum on broadening spectrum access in the United States through reverse government auctions. Moderated by Governance Studies Director Darrell West, a panel of experts discussed the coming spectrum shortage and which policy levers should be used to alleviate it.

After the program, panelists took audience questions.

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Improving Spectrum Access Through Reverse Auctions

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Participants

Panelists

Chris Guttman-McCabe

Vice President, Regulatory Affairs

Thomas Hazlett

Professor, Law & Economics; Director, Information Economy Project

Peter Pitsch

Executive Director, Communications; Associate General Counsel

Thomas C. Power

Deputy Chief Technology Officer for Telecommunications, Office of Science & Technology Policy

Mark Fratrik

Vice President and Chief Economist

How to Further the Mobile Technology Revolution

Tue, 12 Jun 2012 10:00:00 -0400

Event Information

June 12, 2012
10:00 AM - 11:30 AM EDT

Falk Auditorium
Brookings Institution
1775 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20036

A Conversation with AT&T Chairman and CEO Randall Stephenson and Silver Lake Co-Founder Glenn Hutchins

Mobile technology has transformed nearly every aspect of modern life, most notably in the areas of health care delivery, education, global economics, e-commerce, entertainment and personal communications. To further these revolutionary changes, how can the nation create a climate for investment that allows mobile innovation to thrive? What are the policy issues that need to be addressed to foster continued advancement in the area of mobile technology?

On June 12, the Center for Technology Innovation at Brookings hosted a forum focused on the future of mobile technology and how the public and private sectors can boost mobile technology’s growth and success in the U.S. and global marketplaces. Moderated by Director Darrell West, Randall Stephenson, chairman and CEO of AT&T, and Glenn Hutchins, co-founder of Silver Lake and vice chairman of the Brookings Board of Trustees, offered their perspectives on what is required to continue mobile technology’s revolutionary impact.

After the program, speakers took audience questions.

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Participants

Panelists

Randall Stephenson

Chairman and CEO

Glenn Hutchins

Co-founder, Silver Lake
Vice Chairman, The Brookings Institution

Researchers Discover Hacker-Ready Computer Chips

John Villasenor — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 10:18:00 -0400

A pair of security researchers in the U.K. have released a paper [PDF] documenting what they describe as the “first real world detection of a backdoor” in a microchip—an opening that could allow a malicious actor to monitor or change the information on the chip. The researchers, Sergei Skorobogatov of the University of Cambridge and Christopher Woods of Quo Vadis Labs, concluded that the vulnerability made it possible to reprogram the contents of supposedly secure memory and obtain information regarding the internal logic of the chip. I discussed the possibility of this type of hardware vulnerability in the August 2010 Scientific American article “The Hacker in Your Hardware.”

The security breach is a particular concern because of the type of chip involved. The affected chip, a ProASIC3 A3P250, is a field programmable gate array (FPGA). These chips are used in an enormous variety of applications, including communications and networking systems, the financial markets, industrial control systems, and a long list of military systems. Each customer configures an FPGA to implement a unique—and often highly proprietary—set of logical operations. For example, a customer in the financial markets might configure an FPGA to make high speed trading decisions. A customer in aviation might use an FPGA to help perform flight control. Any mechanism that could allow unauthorized access to the internal configuration of an FPGA creates the risk of intellectual property theft. In addition, the computations and data in the chip could be maliciously altered.

Read the entire piece at Scientific American

Authors

John Villasenor

Publication: Scientific American

How Mobile Devices are Transforming Healthcare

Darrell M. West — Tue, 22 May 2012 00:00:00 -0400

Editor's Note: This report is being released in conjunction with an event at Brookings as part of the Mobile Economy Project.

In this new paper, Darrell West writes that mobile technology has expanded dramatically around the world with the utilization of smart phones and tablets transforming communications, commerce, and entertainment, among other fields. Their emergence has improved service delivery, empowered consumers, businesses, and entrepreneurs, and changed the way in which people access information and make transactions.

Now this technology, West argues, is poised to alter how health care is delivered, the quality of the patient experience, and the cost of health care.^[1] Mobile technology is helping with chronic disease management, empowering the elderly and expectant mothers, reminding people to take medication at the proper time, extending service to underserved areas, and improving health outcomes and medical system efficiency. West examines trends in mobile health innovation from around the world and reviews adoption of innovative examples of m-health, its impact on service delivery and medical treatment, and how mobile devices are altering the health care system.

[1] Hao Wang and Jing Liu, “Mobile Phone Based Health Care Technology”, Recent Patents in Biomedical Engineering, Volume 2, 2009, pp. 15-21.

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Authors

Darrell M. West

Image Source: Lester Lefkowitz

How Mobile Technology Influences Health Innovation

Tue, 22 May 2012 14:00:00 -0400

Event Information

May 22, 2012
2:00 PM - 3:30 PM EDT

Falk Auditorium
Brookings Institution
1775 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20036

Mobile technology has transformed the way that individuals accomplish everyday tasks like finding directions, paying bills, and communicating with friends. But mobile technology has also changed the way individuals interact with the medical system around the world. With technological advances, health providers are now able remotely to monitor diabetic and heart patients, send email reminders to take medications, and access diagnostic databases through mobile devices. How have these innovations contributed to patient health and enhanced the doctor-patient relationship? What mobile health advances are transforming medical care? How are countries around the world using mobile technology to improve health care delivery and save money?

On May 22, the Center for Technology Innovation at Brookings held a public forum as part of its Mobile Economy Project to evaluate mobile technology’s influence on healthcare. A panel of experts discussed how mobile technology is enabling health innovation both in the United States and around the world. After the program, speakers took audience questions. Darrell West also released a new paper on the topic.

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How Mobile Technology Influences Health Innovation

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20120522_mobile_technology_transcript_uncorrected

Participants

Panelists

Julie Kling

Mobile Executive Business Lead, Strategic Communications

Alain Labrique

Assistant Professor, Departments of International Health and Epidemiology

Antonio Marttos Jr., MD

Assistant Professor, Surgery; Director, Global e-Health Co-Director, William Lehman Injury Research Center

Morgan Reed

Executive Director, Association for Competitive Technology

Communication Technologies: Five Myths and Five Lessons from History

J. P. Singh — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0400

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Mobile phones in the developing world have myriad uses: banking services, reminders for medicine regimens, e-governance, and more. This is a far cry from a generation ago when 99 percent of the people in low-income countries lacked POTS, or “plain old telephone service.”

Information and communications technologies are now indispensible for development, prioritized through varying levels of market-driven measures and participatory politics. From international organizations to local administrations, the importance given to these technologies for development today is a counterpoint to the immediate post-colonial era when telephones were considered a luxury and nationalized radio broadcasting was used for bringing “modern” ideas to populations. Along with policy changes, the move toward market forms works to ensure that people have phones and access to communication infrastructures, in turn providing incentives for entrepreneurs and political brokers to develop applications for delivery of social services and provide alternatives to users who in an earlier era lacked even basic access to these technologies.

Information technology diffusion rates can be quite spectacular. Only one in a thousand people had a mobile phone in 1995 in low-income countries. Now more than 25 in a thousand people do. Social media and the Internet have revolutionized political participation globally and provided voice and solidarity to communities. In January 2008, a 33-year-old civil engineer from Bogotá used a Facebook page to organize a protest in 40 countries against the paramilitary group FARC, gathering over 12 million people. The digital divide is not fully bridged, but the exponential growth rates of political voice and telephony promise a bright future.

What lessons can policymakers learn from the last 60 years of deploying communication technologies for development? Looking beyond the growth rate numbers suggests processes that either need to be continued or encouraged, but also fine-tuned at micro levels to address demands.

Encouraging Markets: Ensure regulatory independence and market incentives for providing access to infrastructures. Problems remain with corruption among officials and private firms, which calls for independence of regulatory agencies and dispute resolution, as well as smart policies to incentivize delivery in underserved areas.
Developing Polycentric Policymaking: Direct, top-down development interventions do not work effectively. International civil-society and international governmental organizations are best served as knowledge brokers and facilitators of information exchanges.
Allowing Participation and Voice: Locate political spaces for participation and voice. Development interventions tend to be expertise driven and top-down; however, it is not difficult to provide synergies between development aspirations and local contexts.
Understanding Representation: Allow people to represent themselves over various forms of audio-visual media. Old paternalistic habits are still too controlling, even as new social media defy this logic.
Prompting Ingenuity: Encourage technological and business entrepreneurship that enables political voices, social services delivery and micro-level efforts.

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Authors

J. P. Singh