Communication technologies

The technological challenges are those of taking the intellectual challenges and turning them into real working solutions that meet the expectations and requirements of their intended users. According to Abdou Karim Jallow Computer Specialist/Head, Computer Department (2006) Computer Specialist/Head, Computer Department, the emergence and convergence of information and communication technologies (ICT) remain at the centre of global social and economic transformations.
The ICT sector is a gamut of industries and services activities – Internet service provision, telecommunications equipment and services, information technology (IT) equipment and services, media and broadcasting, libraries and documentation centers, commercial information providers, network-based information services and other related information and communication activities. These technological components, which used to be accounted as separate activities have converged to characterize all aspects of ICTs.
The emergence of the Information Society has brought about a new dimension to the subject in which information itself is the strategic resource, a commodity and the foundation of every human activity. He added information and communication technologies can no longer be seen as a luxury for the elite but as an absolute necessity for the masses. The global movement to an information age and the worldwide technological innovations of recent years, along with other structural and economic developments, has led to rapidly falling costs for information and communication technologies7.

ICT, which comprises of Internal Computer Networks (Intranet), International Networks (Internet) Computers for word processing can undoubtedly contribute to the development of any organization/institution by providing a bridge to the global Village for the easy access of Information. It is already understood and agreed upon that a vast lot of educational resources could be found within computer networks and can only be accessed through the establishment of ICT systems thus bringing about the “Information Society”.
In this present technological digital advanced world, there is the belief that there exists an ICT facility in every institution of higher learning this belief is yet to become a reality8. Effective information and communication systems require reliable, low-cost and widespread technological resources such as computers, software and all the components of the telecommunications infrastructure for processing data and information.
Nevertheless, technological infrastructure has traditionally been regarded as the most critical component of ICT, leaders and experts worldwide increasingly recognize human resource capacity development as potentially the most crucial constraint in the effective deployment of ICT to build sustainable information societies9. Commercial The commercial challenges are those that arise when trying to conduct business in an environment where the market is global and both suppliers and customers can shop around the entire world from the comfort of their home or working base.
Dario Cziraky stated that the commercial importance of ICT development is magnified by high correlation between the level of economic development and the state of ICT: regardless of the causal direction it is clear that the two go hand-by-hand, most likely making the direction of causality non-recursive (i. e. , influencing each other). However, aside of the economic, and certainly educational, relevance of the ICT an additional important aspect is the harmonization of the national ICT policies with the EU telecommunications policy—an issue of primary importance for the pre-accession states.
The main bottlenecks for the ICT development in some communities include lack of IT education, high access costs (both regarding hardware and telecommunication lines), while the primary obstacle to e-commerce (doing business on-line, over Internet) is inappropriate electronic payment system which concerns weaknesses in the banking system. Consequently, the priorities in the ICT policies include cheaper telephone access, more efficient electronic payment system, proliferation of public ICT access points and ICT skills training.
Additional aspects needing legislative, educational, and economic improvement include: tax environment, cutting costs and increasing choice of telecoms, 3G mobile and digital TV, legal framework, and International framework within e-community. (Barrington, R. 2000). Additional ICT issues relevant for commercial centre in the telecomm monopoly and de-regulation policy11. Particular concern for ICT development is the relatively large ICT monopoly of the community Telecom on audio services, telecommunication-lines rental, and international communications. (Article 98)