Digital inclusion opportunities in the telecommunications sector through NGN and open source tools : The open IMS core experience

The evolution of telecommunication networks towards a NGN may positively impact the transformation of the digital divide, a symptom of the differences in economic and social development between countries, into a digital opportunity. With regard to the telecommunication sector, the NGN evolution with its standardization process and the establishment of open APIs provides a more accessible framework for technological innovation, also for developing economies. Learning from previous experiences of development projects, this article analyzes the opportunities for the telecommunication community to contribute to the reduction of the digital divide. It also presents the experience of the authors by easing the adoption of NGN technologies through an Open Source project.