---

Currently, around one to two billion users are able to connect to the Internet, most of them living in the industrialized parts of the world. However, if we want to improve the quality of life of the world population with the help of access to information and education, it is necessary that in the next decade an additional five billion people gain access to the Internet. The next five billion Internet users are mainly living in emerging economies. Therefore, the main challenge is to lower the economic barrier using new approaches for infrastructure deployment and service delivery to billions of people. This book reflects the discussions of the challenges from the Münchner Kreis with repäsentatives from the ICT industry, academia, non-governmental organizations and governmental development organizations, among them many representatives from emerging economies in Africa and Asia. They had highlight the real demand for ICT, and what impact ICT creates for the wealth and lifestyle of the people.

---

Opening Remarks.- ICT for the Poor at Large Scale: Innovative Connections to Markets and Services.- People Driven Innovation - How to create the Demand for ICT Solutions in Underserved Areas.- Transfer of services to emerging markets - mobile services, m-payment & m-health.- Incubating Micro Enterprises in Rural South Africa - The Use Case of Virtual Buying Cooperatives.- "What can we learn from the Developing World?" Impact of Mobile Applications from developing Markets on Mature Economies.- Mobile Broadband Community Centers.- Myths about ICT for the Other Billions.- From Voice to Broadband Data - Affordable Communications in Emerging Markets.- Leapfrogging ICT with Cloud Computing in Emerging Countries.- PANEL DISCUSSION ICT and Economics Development in Underserved Markets - A Chicken and Egg Problem.- Closing Remarks.

---

From the reviews:
"An edited volume of papers presented at a conference held in Germany. ... Its relative brevity may make it attractive to those seeking a quick oversight of issues and debates, while lectures may recommend it to their students in the hope that the style adopted--transcribed presentations with the accompanying slides--will encourage them to read the various chapters. ... Some of the examples cited in the various chapters are interesting ... . All things considered, one for the library." (Jason Whalley, Communication Booknotes Quarterly, Vol. 42 (3), July-September, 2011)

---