I lived in Ecuador for 5 months and was a little surprised that at one time they had the highest rate of cell phone ownership per capita of any country in the world [1]. Like the countries mentioned in Africa, it's because they skipped the land line stage and went straight to cell phones.
What was truly shocking was the amount of money people were paying relative to their income. There were local Ecuadorians working with me - earning a good income by Ecuadorian standards, though they were living in dirt-floor houses and didn't have hot running water.
These people were spending an entire months salary on a flip phone. Because that's what they wanted and was cool.
It blew me a way to think of the average person from a Developed country spending an entire months salary on a cell phone - it's essentially not even possible.
It's as if they have access to all the same technology the Developed world does, but the cost of entry is exponentially higher.
What was truly shocking was the amount of money people were paying relative to their income. There were local Ecuadorians working with me - earning a good income by Ecuadorian standards, though they were living in dirt-floor houses and didn't have hot running water.
These people were spending an entire months salary on a flip phone. Because that's what they wanted and was cool.
It blew me a way to think of the average person from a Developed country spending an entire months salary on a cell phone - it's essentially not even possible.
It's as if they have access to all the same technology the Developed world does, but the cost of entry is exponentially higher.
[1] http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/IT.CEL.SETS.P2?order=wba...