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"We are so used to being almost permanently online that we don't really appreciate what we have and do not really know what to do when we're not," Joni Mitchell wrote in her 1970s song "Big Yellow Taxi."
Well, telecom companies "provided the services and products that we have gotten to regard as a basic need: connection," writesjoerd Rozing in an article for the Guardian.
And it's telecom companies that provide that basic service.
In fact, Rozing writes, telecom companies "primarily contribute to the societal transition by facilitating access to key products, services, and markets that broaden opportunities for marginalised groups and individuals to participate in cultural, political, and social spaces."
Examples include providing access to broadband Internet, mobile phones, TV, and so on, as well as "material improvement in their personal financial situation, which enhances their possibilities to participate, when people upgrade from a 3G phone to a very affordable 4G smartphone, as research from Safaricom shows."
In fact, telecom companies "represent one of the least diverse sectors to work in" in emerging markets, but in developed markets, "they are therefore more stable and predictable, as they generate most of their revenues from subscriptions."
They also tend to offer an attractive dividend
Selected Grant News Headlines
A customized collection of grant news from foundations and the federal government from around the Web.
Foundation: Marguerite Casey Foundation, Marguerite Casey Foundation, Kresge Foundation
Stephen Stephens' father died of cancer when he was 53, and his message to young people has stayed with him. "Always do the right thing son," he tells Fast Company. "That message has always...more
When it comes to sustainability, Entrepreneur says, "it takes more than just lip service." That's because it takes a "thorough commitment to evaluate every aspect of your operation to develop...more
Foundation: Indianapolis Foundation
Lynne Arriale's new album, Being Human, is all about "people who exemplify Passion, courage, love, curiosity, and other human qualities," the Florida pianist tells Rita Kohn of the Indianapolis...more
When Unoma Okorafor started working on her master's degree in computer science at the African University of Science and Technology in Abuja, Nigeria, in the mid-'90s, she had no idea she'd end up in...more
"Time-trap thinking seems logical," writes Lori Carrell in the Los Angeles Times, "but it's short-sighted: Degrees mean real earning power and career growth, and many students do work during...more
Foundation: Gates Foundation
Melinda French Gates is stepping down as co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which she founded with her ex-husband Bill Gates more than 20 years ago. As part of an agreement made...more
Ahmad Al-Mallahi is a professor of agricultural engineering and sensing technologies at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Canada, and he's spent the past five years developing technology that could...more
"You never know what situation you may find yourself in, and VHA health care professionals know this all too well," reads a post on the Simulation Learning, Evaluation, Assessment, and Research...more
Sixth-graders at a Massachusetts school are turning trash found on the beach into art. Hull's Jacobs Elementary School is hosting a live viewing of students' work on Friday from 2pm to 3pm,...more
A Vietnam veteran from Alabama has won first place in a creative writing competition for his poem about his father's death from injuries in the war, and second place for his poem about his service...more
Social Entrepreneurship
Spotlight
Celebrity Chef Jamie Oliver Backs Social Saturday
UK will be celebrating its first national celebration of social enterprises dubbed as Social Saturday. World famous celebrity chef Jamie Oliver, who founded the Fifteen restaurant chain.
