ICT4D

Information and Communication Technologies for Development, or ICT4D, include:

Telephone systems in developing countries (especially mobile phones and especially text message services - see Mobile phones in development and disaster management)
Internet access in developing countries
Affordable computers and practical use thereof

Key principles of ICT4D equipment

Such ICT follows the principles of appropriate technology and aims to make the benefits of these technologies as widely available as possible.

These are general principles that will vary according to the specific application and context:

Minimize power usage, because:
- Less power means less infrastructure, and infrastructure can be expensive
- Power means heat, means fan, which means sucking in dust, which means breakage and need for repairs; it also means all parts of the system heat up, which can lead to malfunctions. So the less power, the less breakage.
Locally maintainable, through a combination of:
- Ease of use and repair
- Interchangeable, standard parts as far as possible. This is not strictly possible in a village context, but don't be more exotic in hardware choice than necessary.
- Upgrades and reinstalls freely available without need for payment. The use of open source software has the advantage on this point.
- Training
- Support materials in the local language, or (next best option) in a language that local people can understand.

↑ These can still be taken along in a backpack and ie foreseen with a projector/stationary screen and laser keyboard]