Roeding’s World Travels: South Africa

Cyriac Roeding, the former EVP of mobile at CBS is on a world tour of about 10 countries in seven weeks, documenting for mocoNews the mobile lifestyle across the countries he is touring.

Excerpts from South Africa

Even in the wild, mobile is key and pervasive in South Africa. Many parts of the vast Kruger National Wildlife Park have perfect cell phone voice and EDGE data connectivity. Ironically, stationary PC internet access at safari lodges is not stationary: Regular desktop PC’s are connected to the web via mobile connection to the next tower in the Park.

To top it off, mobile technology is also employed to help overcome the remnant effects of apartheid. In the townships of tens of thousands of metal shacks, cell phones are the key to communication for the people that live there. Where telephone lines and stationary computers are a rarity, the population avoids the cord altogether and leaps right to mobile phones, like we have seen in Nepal, India and Bhutan.

Throughout the country, crime is also tackled using mobile phones. Outdoor billboards call out in big letters “Mobile-ize Against Crime!” Citizens are asked to tip off the police if they see suspicious activity by texting to a shortcode.

Check out more pictures on flickr.

emily | 9:08 AM | Mobile Cartoons/Comics |
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