Global Communications Company Marconi has called on government and private stakeholders to "turbocharge" the roll-out of e-learning centres and telecentres in remote, rural and disadvantaged areas, saying the economic and educational benefits will have an immediate and measurable impact on poverty in SA.
Franklin Pieterse, Marketing Director for Marconi SA, says the centres have considerable potential for narrowing the digital divide in these communities, with the lowering of bandwidth costs and the emergence of enhanced cable, wireless and satellite systems putting the information highway "tantalisingly within reach".
"We`ve seen numerous cases across the world where e-learning centres have eased development problems and resulted in the economic upliftment of entire regions," said Pieterse. "If government is serious about addressing historical inequities, it must seriously look at providing access to information and communication technologies (ICTs)."
A number of these centres - including a pioneering telecentre in SA`s Northern Province, the Gaseleka Centre - are already providing benefits to surrounding communities, which extend well beyond their original educational mandates. Another pioneering education initiative in SA is the GautengOnline project, which aims to equip all schools in the province with at least 25-networked computers.
"Technology lies at the core of the telecentre concept and can undoubtedly bring enormous benefits to communities," said Pieterse. "The primary objective of many telecentres is to create public telephone access and then introduce a range of other services dependent on this backbone, such as fax, e-mail, and Internet access."
Marconi believes that broadband technology will be revolutionary in transforming learning in today`s classrooms. By providing high-speed cable Internet service, teacher training and high quality, commercial-free educational television programming, broadband access will enable students to explore and better understand the world in which they live.
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Marconi plc is a global company with over 40 000 employees. Marconi has research and development facilities in 19 countries, manufacturing operations in 16 countries, and serves customers in over 100 countries. It delivers innovative communications solutions, which transform the economics of doing business, for Networks, Wireless and Enterprise customers. Marconi plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange and Nasdaq under the symbol MONI. Additional information about Marconi can be found at www.marconi.com.
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