Rest of World - Access & Connectivity https://restofworld.org Reporting Global Tech Stories Fri, 01 May 2026 10:01:16 +0000 Copyright 2026 Rest of World daily 2 Can Africa succeed where India failed with the $40 smartphone? https://restofworld.org/2026/gsma-cheap-smartphone-africa/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=feeds Mon, 16 Mar 2026 10:00:00 +0000 Ananya Bhattacharya https://restofworld.org/2026/gsma-cheap-smartphone-africa/ Victor Adewale for Rest of World The Gulf built oil pipelines to avoid Hormuz. It’s now doing the same for data https://restofworld.org/2026/gulf-overland-data-cables-europe-war/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=feeds Wed, 11 Mar 2026 10:00:00 +0000 Indranil Ghosh https://restofworld.org/2026/gulf-overland-data-cables-europe-war/ Rest of World/iStock Waiting for the check marks: The reality of connecting with family in Iran https://restofworld.org/2026/iran-internet-shutdown-diaspora-family/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=feeds Fri, 06 Mar 2026 11:00:00 +0000 Bahareh Sahebi https://restofworld.org/2026/iran-internet-shutdown-diaspora-family/ iStock/Rest of World Big Tech’s Gulf megaprojects are trapped between two war choke points https://restofworld.org/2026/us-iran-war-gulf-ai-submarine-cables/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=feeds Wed, 04 Mar 2026 16:05:16 +0000 Indranil Ghosh https://restofworld.org/2026/us-iran-war-gulf-ai-submarine-cables/ Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via AP Smoke rises from an unknown location in Tehran, Iran, on March 4, 2026, after U.S.-Israeli attacks. Iranian strikes test the Gulf’s trillion-dollar AI dream https://restofworld.org/2026/amazon-uae-data-center-fire-iran-strike/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=feeds Mon, 02 Mar 2026 16:46:09 +0000 Indranil Ghosh https://restofworld.org/2026/amazon-uae-data-center-fire-iran-strike/ Ryan Lim / AFP via Getty Images A plume of smoke rises from the Zayed Port following a reported Iranian strike in Abu Dhabi on March 1, 2026. How cheap Chinese phones catapulted Kenya into the global digital economy https://restofworld.org/2026/china-kenya-silicon-elsewhere-book/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=feeds Thu, 12 Feb 2026 11:00:00 +0000 Andrea Pollio https://restofworld.org/2026/china-kenya-silicon-elsewhere-book/ Kenya medical training college students use their mobile phones to take pictures of doctors chanting as they make their way to the health ministry headquarters protesting with placards to demand better pay and working conditions in the capital, Nairobi on April 16, 2024. (Photo by SIMON MAINA / AFP) (Photo by SIMON MAINA/AFP via Getty Images) When war destroys the internet economy https://restofworld.org/2026/internet-shutdown-tech-crash-iran-ukraine/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=feeds Wed, 28 Jan 2026 08:00:00 +0000 Itika Sharma Punit and Damilare Dosunmu https://restofworld.org/2026/internet-shutdown-tech-crash-iran-ukraine/ Mudathir Hameed/Getty Images A radio signal tower stands behind houses with bullet holes in Omdurman, Sudan. Iran’s internet blackout may become permanent, with access for elites only https://restofworld.org/2026/iran-blackout-tiered-internet/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=feeds Fri, 23 Jan 2026 06:45:27 +0000 Indranil Ghosh https://restofworld.org/2026/iran-blackout-tiered-internet/ Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto/Getty Images An Iranian flag hangs on a wall of the Aqsa Mosque, which burns during anti-government protests in eastern Tehran, Iran, on January 21, 2026. (Photo by Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images) Big Tech is racing to own Africa’s internet https://restofworld.org/2026/amazon-starlink-africa/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=feeds Wed, 21 Jan 2026 10:07:04 +0000 Damilare Dosunmu https://restofworld.org/2026/amazon-starlink-africa/ Ernest Ankomah/Bloomberg via Getty Images A technician installs a Starlink Inc satellite-internet communication system antenna on the roof of a home in Accra, Ghana. Uganda shuts down internet two days before election https://restofworld.org/2026/uganda-election-internet-shutdown/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=feeds Wed, 14 Jan 2026 09:54:04 +0000 Damilare Dosunmu https://restofworld.org/2026/uganda-election-internet-shutdown/ Luis Tato/AFP/Getty Images TOPSHOT - Residents travel past an electoral billboard supporting Uganda's incumbent president and National Resistance Movement (NRM) presidential candidate Yoweri Museveni, ahead of the 2026 Ugandan general elections, in Kampala on January 10, 2026. (Photo by Luis TATO / AFP via Getty Images) Iran crippled Starlink and why the rest of the world should worry https://restofworld.org/2026/iran-starlink-internet-shutdown/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=feeds Tue, 13 Jan 2026 17:17:16 +0000 Indranil Ghosh https://restofworld.org/2026/iran-starlink-internet-shutdown/ Getty Images An Armed member of Iranian security forces is seen in front of a burning building during a protest in Tehran, Iran on January 9, 2026. The day the cloud went out https://restofworld.org/2026/cloud-outages-2025-global-business-impact/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=feeds Mon, 05 Jan 2026 11:00:00 +0000 Damilare Dosunmu https://restofworld.org/2026/cloud-outages-2025-global-business-impact/ Alex Nabaum for Rest of World