L I R N E . N E T

DIRSI network members Hernan Galperin, Roxana Barrantes and Amy Mahan (also LIRNE.NET coordinator), will participate in a panel entitled “Are new communication technologies reducing or increasing inequalities?” in the XXVIII International Congress of the Latin American Studies Association - LASA 2009 [June 11-14, 2009; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil]. “Rethinking inequalities” is the main theme of this edition.

Saturday June 14, 2009 - 9:00 - 10:45 am

Hernan Galperin [Chair]

Presenters:

1. Hernan Galperin, Roxana Barrantes
Can the poor afford mobile telephony? Evidence from Latin America

2. Amy Mahan
Measuring the impact of access to ICT infrastructure in Latin America

3. Antonio Jose Botelho
New communication technologies and MSME’s in Latin America and the Caribbean

4. Sebastian Ureta
Jóvenes y tecnologías móviles en Santiago de Chile

5. Fernando Jose Barrio
The digital paradox in Latin America: The simultaneous pursuit of policies facilitating and restricting access to digital information in the region

On 23 June in Ottawa, Canada, the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and the Learning Initiatives on Reforms for Network Economies (LIRNE.NET) network held a meeting with researchers from the Latin American and Caribbean Regional Dialogue on the Information Society (DIRSI), LIRNEasia, the LINK Centre and Research ICT Africa (RIA!), Comunica, and from the LIRNE network in Europe - Center for Communication, Media and Information Technologies (CMI) at Aalborg University, and the Center for Information and Communication Technologies (CICT), at the Technical University of Denmark. The intention of this event, in addition to presenting research, was to have a conversation with the invited participants and amongst ourselves. The four sessions of this day-long event were constructed in such a way as to provide opportunity for dialogue and creative reflection on the work of the network, why we do what we do, how we engage ICT regulatory research effectively and ensure impact.

Continue to the rest of this entry for presentation downloads and meeting information.

Click here to see photos of this event.
Click here to read the LIRNEasia report on this event.

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A DIRSI forum on “Challenges for Regulation of Telecommunications in Ecuador” was attended by almost 100 government, industry and telecom sector stakeholders, on Wednesday, 26 March. During the event, Hugo Carrión (of Imaginar) presented “Regulation and Investment in Telecommunications: an Ecuador Case Study” The study provides an historical overview and analysis of the fixed and mobile telephony markets, and a review of the main developments in the Ecuadorian telecom sector in recent years. To apply the Telecommunications Regulatory Environment methodology for the study, 50 experts country experts were surveyed on their perceptions of the main regulatory aspects related to both fixed and mobile telephony.

Click here to download the full TRE study for Ecuador (in Spanish).

Click here to download the participant list, photos and media clippings for the event.

See also the TRE study for Peru (2007 - in Spanish).
Go to the DIRSI website.

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Kim Mallalieu, DIRSI researcher, organized a stakeholders’ meeting to review findings from the DIRSI Mobile Opportunities study. The meeting, which was held at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Institute of Critical Thinking, brought together invited representatives of key stakeholder groups, including the Telecommunications Authority of Trinidad and Tobago, the Ministry of Public Administration and Information, the Tobago House of Assembly, the Caribbean Telecommunications Union, the Caribbean Association of National Telecommunications Organizations, the Ministry of Social Development, and The Central Statistical Office.

Click here to download the meeting report.

Other available documents:

• Executive Summary of the Trinidad and Tobago Mobile Opportunities survey
• DIRSI Mobile Opportunities full country reports click here to go to Spanish page for the reports
• Regional Summary of the Mobile Opportunities survey also in Spanish - Oportunidades Móviles: reporte regional

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[27 March 2008] DIRSI researcher, Judith Mariscal, will present “Oportunidades Móviles: pobreza y acceso telefónico” at the Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas (CIDE) - where she is also Director of the Programa de Investigación en Telecomunicaciones y Tecnologías. The presentation will take place at 11am in the Sala de Seminarios, in the Santa Fe building.

To confirm participation, please contact: Regina de Angoitia:
email: regina.angoitia [at] cide.edu
telephone: 5727-9800 x 2330