Alisa Amupolo and Robin Tyson
13 May 2008
opinion
WHEN a loved one passes in Namibia, it is now common for the news to be communicated to all family members and relatives via cellphone.
What in past years would have been relayed (over several weeks) via travellers and businesspeople, and more recently, via radio stations, has now moved into the 21st century.
The 95 per cent coverage of Namibia's cellphone network, as well as the increasingly lower cost of calls due to competition, has led to the cellphone becoming Namibia's primary means of communication.
Cellphones have now made their presence felt in almost every region of Namibia.
Thus, within hours of an occurrence one can rest assured that the message has reached the immediate family and beyond.
THREATENING ORAL DISCOURSE? Albeit facilitating communication across frontiers, the technology however raises the question of whether this has threatened or preserved oral discourse.
The cellphone has become a key means for people to communicate with each other, facilitating intercultural exchange in the cosmopolitan society that we live in today.
Not only do mobile services substitute the inadequate fixed-line infrastructure that requires cable connections, but they equally serve as the best device to address the digital divide, given the high levels of societal mobile phone service penetration in the rural community.
Sadie Plant ('On the mobile - the effects of mobile telephones on social and individual life: 2001') ascertains that in less than 20 years, the mobile phone has gone from being a rare, expensive item used by the business elite to a pervasive, low-cost personal item that has become the world's leading telecommunications technology.
The World Summit on Information Society in 2004 reported that Africa had close to 76 million mobile subscribers and has the highest ratio of mobile phone subscribers of any world region.
New Era (January 7 2008) reported 800 000 estimated cellphone users in Namibia, a combined figure for both MTC and Cell One.
Competition between the two major cellphone operators, supplemented by Telecom's SWITCH, is absolutely healthy in a developing country like Namibia in order to enable affordable services and expand consumer choices, thus bridging the digital divide.
Marginalised, impoverished or rural communities that previously found themselves on the periphery are now enjoying these mobile services.
This enables them to connect with families across great distances, sharing up-to-date information like job opportunities, death news, or weather reports.
The flood catastrophe striking the northern and northeastern part of the country has brought the power of mobile phones to the fore - not only to transfer information on the flow of water or alerts on waterborne diseases, but also to allow isolated communities the opportunity to offer one another much-needed support.
CULTURAL SHIFT Cellphones have also become a potent symbol of the cultural shifts across the 21st-century world.
They have proven to be user friendly and do not require sophisticated skills for operation.
In addition, the long-lasting battery does not require a constant electricity source as one may only need to charge the batteries every few days.
For the technology enthusiast or 'early adopter' of course, a mobile is not only a necessity but rather a mode of survival and a companion as well as fashion accessory.
Plant further established that it is these relatively low costs and the operational simplicity of the cellphone that have increased its adoption.
This has introduced a new sense of speed and connectivity in social life, established new kinds of relationships between individuals and begun to facilitate the emergence of a new private world, a virtual community which can be pulled together in a matter of moments.
More dramatically, the increasing connectivity (through cellphone applications such as MIG33 or MIXIT) has brought about the emergence of entire new cultures and communities, thus contributing to the emergence of a new world.
This cultural shift moves the media from focusing on a country's culture to a more universal culture.
For example, the language of command in the mobile device is predominantly English, thus undermining vernacular languages.
This is despite the potential of mobile devices to be tailored for various languages (as is presently the case with Oshiwambo with some local service providers).
Theories in the field of the cultural effect of technological change have identified significant ways in which local economic, technological, political and cultural conditions shape the use and perception of the mobile technology.
They argue that cellphones shape and are shaped in turn by the world in which they are evolving.
Mobile use has risen as a tool that fulfils various social aspects; it creates that sense of belongingness and equally denotes emptiness in case of absence.
It becomes virtually impossible for certain users to switch off their mobiles, be it in a formal setting were silent mode has become popular or in informal settings where a cellphone serves as a bodyguard or mobile alarm clock.
A MATTER OF SURVIVAL Ultimately, with these new forms of communication facilitated by cellphones, a shift in the Namibian culture of communication is becoming prevalent, especially with regard to oral traditional communications.
Our oral tradition is slowly but surely evolving.
For instance, the mobile has created a new element of urgency in conversation due to the cost involved, thus fragmenting the cultural practice of oral communication.
This is especially the case amongst those traditional early adopters of this new technology, the youth.
It has also changed generational respect.
For instance, although elders are supposed to lead the conversation, with mobile etiquettes it is the caller that leads.
An attempt to cut an elder short during a conversation can be misunderstood, and the technological imperative of time changes the elders' perception about shortcuts and the urgency that communication innovations have brought.
Those advocating rapid technological information distribution sometimes lack knowledge about cultural communication and forget that elders in some communities have the potential to reject it outright.
Although mobiles are devices that are difficult to regulate, the sophistication but mostly cost that comes with such services can be a threat to the distinct culture, as they shape how users apply the services.
Thus, it's imperative for legislation to make provision for affordable and quality mobile services through competitive and effective telecommunications policies that are conducive to the ICT sector.
In this case telecommunications operators should continue to develop and improve infrastructures in the country with the support of the government.
The more affordable the service, especially to a community on the periphery, the more time consumers can accord to mobile conversation and the more the cultural practice of oral communication can be upheld.
Further liberalisation of the telecommunications environment is required in order to cope with the continued population increase and high demand for affordable services.
This success must be underpinned by an effective independent regulator that will monitor and enforce healthy competition and push operators to comply by the regulatory framework.
Further, the recent tax imposition on pre-paid airtime by the Ministry of Finance is a serious threat to the bridging of digital divide as it is mostly affecting consumers on the lower end, and contributes to a widening of the digital divide.
The earlier the Communications Bill is tabled and translated into law the better to give direction towards the future strength of Namibia telecommunication services in a converging world and to address preservation of culture and protection of heritage as they become increasingly compromised in the digital era, as the cellphone case has demonstrated.
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