Public ICT Center for Rural Development: Inclusiveness, Sustainability, and Impact
Abstract
Description
Cybercafés now serve as a model for government efforts in Sri Lanka to set up telecenters to extend internet connectivity to rural communities.
Cybercafés arise as small urban businesses but are not financially viable in rural areas. Telecenters are a governmental response, modeled after cybercafés, to try to bring the benefits of computers and the internet to underserved rural communities.
This report discusses why ICT centers remain popular with governments and rural people, and why it is difficult to serve rural areas. Effective public support practices are identified, based on a review of the record of experience, with special reference to two case studies: a government-run initiative in the Philippines and a public–private partnership in Sri Lanka.