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Families that can't afford to pay from $30 per month for Comcast's Internet access services now have a less expensive alternative. The cable provider launched a new plan dubbed Internet Essentials, which will cost low-income families only $10 per month for Web access.

This is an important development in social networking that would allow collaboration between people living in very remote areas with limited Internet access.

Social networking is generally more common in higher income nations; however, this is largely driven by the fact that wealthier countries have higher rates of internet access. People in lower income nations who have online access use social networking at rates that are as high, or higher, than those found in affluent countries.

ASEAN have revealed their "ICT Masterplan" which includes provisions to create its own regional Internet exchange, complete with an "ASEAN broadband corridor linking key cities in the region". The ICT Masterplan also lays out a framework to increase access to affordable technologies, encourage and train Southeast Asian residents in ICT jobs, and other cross-country initiatives that help bridge the digital divide both between countries and within countries.

Being made up of islands, wireless coverage appeals more to the country than creating a fixed network, and most mobile carriers are offering their own wireless Internet flavors that range from USB broadband dongles to the more recently available portable WiFi hubs. WiMax is fully implemented, yet still has insufficient coverage in hard-to-reach areas, and the telcos are already at the LTE testing stage. Users' Internet connectivity is seen to be booming at a growth spurt of 61.74% since 2009, placing it in second place internationally.

The future is already here - it's just not evenly distributed. This is a fairly techie presentation, but the first 32 slide are well worth viewing. This presentation is about building a true web experience for phones. For our DSN projects we don't necessarily care right now. We can take advantage of web accessibility on non-smart phones and Twitter and FB apps that don't even need an Internet connection.

Open data is a key step in holding governments to account and empowering democracy. It is not an end in itself, but it is a driver in societal change and it is hoped it can change the relationship between government and citizen. The prospects for mobile apps driven by open government in Kenya gaining traction are good, given a population that primarily accesses the Internet over mobile devices.