Mobile phones and the promises of connectivity: Interrogating the Role of Information, Communication Technologies (ICTs) in Marketisation

Abstract

This research investigates the role of ICTs (mobile phones) in economic development particularly in the Papua New Guinean coffee and fresh produce value chains. It aims to interrogate the promises and unwavering optimism attached to the 'ICT revolution' by examining the effects of ICTs on economic practices and the extent to which communication and network integration will be a driver of development.

Following the deregulation of the telecommunications sector in 2007, considerable attention has been paid to the digital transformation in Papua New Guinea and the Pacific Islands and the unprecedented growth of mobile phone and social media use. PNG's mobile phone penetration has increased exponentially from approximately 2% to over 48.6% in just over ten years (from 2005 to 2016 - World Bank 2017). Media commentators have noted with delight that there are now more Pacific Islanders with mobile phones than bank accounts and that in PNG alone, internet access from mobile phones is forecast to increase to about 50 per cent of the population in the near future (UNESCAP 2006, Beschorner 2008, SPC 2012).

Much expectancy and promise has already been attached to the future impacts of such increased connectivity as World Bank Economists postulate that a 10% improvement in Internet penetration leads to an increase in GDP of up to of 1.5%; while 10% increase in mobile penetration can translate into a 0.81% increase in growth (Qiang et al. 2009). These projections are mainly premised on the assumption that increased connectivity will facilitate better access to current information about market prices and reduce price dispersion; producing savings in time, transport and search costs. Furthermore, ICTs could directly link small scale producers to buyer's markets by weeding out 'rent seeking' brokers and middlemen in the value chain through a process referred to as 'disintermediation'. Using case studies from key regional economic sectors, this thesis interrogates if such claims are borne out on the ground and tests if information infrastructure is necessarily going to lead to more openness, equality and an all-encompassing 'digital provide' (Jensen 2007).