2.1. Role of Telecentres in Communities
Telecentres offer services including access to computers and Internet, email, bills payment services, access to e-government services, fax, phone, computer training and other value-added services (Chigona et al., 2012; Gomez et al., 2012). One of the objectives of telecentres is help communities in achieving social economic development. The services in the telecentres are offered for free or at a cost to the user depending on the objectives of the telecentre. The ownership and management of telecentre determines whether the services offered to the community to be free or paying (Gollakota et al., 2012). Private organisations, government and non-governmental organisations may own the telecentres.
Apart from providing access to ICTs, telecentres have the potential improve the well-being of communities through promoting social inclusion, increasing access to information, support addressing literacy and learning (Chigona et al., 2012; Huerta et al., 2012). Telecentres act as meeting points and information hubs in rural communities where people and organisations can obtain and disseminate information on microfinance, health, agriculture and education (Bailur, 2007; Gomez, 2012). The services can be categorised into online and offline activities for sharing information and communication (Bailey, 2009). Thus, telecentres offer diverse services depending on context (Gollakota, Pick & Sathyapriya, 2012).