LIRNEasia regularly surveys SEC group D and E (the bottom of the pyramid) teleuse in emerging Asian countries. In the study it was found that less than one percent of the Sri Lankan BOP phone users who are aware of mobile 2.0 services regularly use it. Highlighting this fact we ran an advertisement in the Daily Mirror today.
The advertisement’s objective was to show what the policy makers and regulators can do and thereby what the service providers could do to boost up Mobile 2.0 services in Sri Lanka. The advertisement also indicated, that with these changes it can lead to a App-Store model where it can act as a platform (application store) for mobile content providers to add their applications, with standard contracts from telcos.
Mobile 2.0 at Bottom of the pyramid is project conducted by LIRNEasia. For more details click here
More info about Teleuse@BOP (Survey on SEC D and E) click here
The advertisement ran today in the Daily Mirror Business section
5 Comments
venura9
Well that has a lot to do with the comparatively higher charging for data via mobile devices. even if there are ways still the users are not aware of them and about the voice beyond services that they can get. Poor marketing strategies of the operators has a strong say in this.
Alison Gillwald
Fantastic initiative to give research policy relevance, well done, Alison Gillwald, South Africa.
Mobile
If someone takes a photo with a mobile phone cam, does it come under Mobile 2.0 or does it becomes Mobile 2.0 only when it is sent to someone through MMS?
Chanuka Wattegama
@Mobile,
It is common to have other electronic devices like radios, cameras, clocks bundled with mobile handsets. Whether they are part of the handset or an added component is a tricky question. So far we have treated mobile cameras separately. But perhaps in future, if mobile handsets replace non-professional cameras we may have to consider it as part of mobile 2.0.
LIRNEasia Senior Research Manager Gayani Hurulle at the Internet Governance Forum Sri Lanka 2026
The Internet Governance Forum Sri Lanka (IGF Sri Lanka) 2026 was held on 23 September under the theme ‘Empowering the Internet in the Age of Intelligence through Multistakeholderism’. The event brought together stakeholders from government, industry, academia, civil society and the technical community to discuss key issues in internet governance.
Is Personally Identifiable Information safe in the hands of the State?
In an article published on 25 September 2026 in the DailyFT, LIRNEasia Chair Professor Rohan Samarajiva discusses the risks of the state holding large amounts of personally identifiable information (PII). He looks at the misuse of electoral-registry information during the July 1983 pogrom, which critics of public-service digitalisation, particularly the Sri Lanka Unique Identity (SLUDI), cite as a reason for extreme caution, if not halting such initiatives.
LIRNEasia is hiring: Senior Researcher
LIRNEasia is looking for a talented individual to join the team as a Senior Researcher to drive impactful research. The full job description can be accessed below.
Links
User Login
Themes
Social
Twitter
Facebook
RSS Feed
Contact
9A 1/1, Balcombe Place
Colombo 08
Sri Lanka
+94 (0)11 267 1160
+94 (0)11 267 5212
info [at] lirneasia [dot] net
Copyright © 2026 LIRNEasia
a regional ICT policy and regulation think tank active across the Asia Pacific