Emerging markets are leading global mobile growth. These markets contain the largest numbers of poor people. As such growth necessarily involves many at the bottom of the pyramid (BOP). Innovations in technology, business models and policy are required to serve the BOP efficiently; even more crucial is deep insight into the growing demand for telecom services at the BOP .
Teleuse at the bottom of the pyramid, or Teleuse@BOP, pioneered by LIRNEasia in 2005, is a unique series of cutting edge demand-side studies on ICT use among the BOP. It was one of the first large regional studies to assess demand for ICT services among emerging Asia’s BOP in a systematic way. The previous studies proved useful in making government understand the significance of telecom, especially the mobile, at the Bottom of the Pyramid. Its findings have contributed to debates universal service policies, on taxation and even on registration of phones for security purposes. The results have also been used by industry to better understand, and design products and services for, the BOP. The wide media attention received in multiple countries in multiple languages is evidence of the relevance and need for such research in the industry. LIRNEasia has built a brand name in demand-side telecom research, developing a wealth of knowledge and expertise in this area. The 2005 study highlighted the degree of phone sharing at the BOP, revealing potential for innovative forms of shared access. The 2006 study uncovered that many at the BOP were now in a position to take up ownership, especially mobile ownership, with a projected 140 million declaring intent of phone-ownership by mid-2008. Eighty three million of this was from India alone, potentially taking household phone access up to 50 percent.
The 2008 study, Teleuse@BOP3 is currently underway. It focuses on if and how mobile phones are being used for non-voice, or ‘Mobile2.0’ applications. Many claim that the BOP will have their first internet experience via a mobile phone; we hope to provide answers to this question and many others, by looking at the use of Mobile2.0 applications such as payments, text-voting, market information, etc at the BOP. The use of and (and potential for) mobile payments is a particular focus, where we look at issues of trust, convenience and cost. Teleuse@BOP3 also contains a separate module on the teleuse experience of BOP migrant workers (within their home country, but also away from it) in each of the countries. It looks at how they communicate home, but also the modes of sending remittances and the potential for mobile payments to serve the same purpose.
The current study involves a detailed survey of 9,750 sample representative of the BOP in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, the Philippines and Thailand. An innovative diary method has been developed by LIRNEasia, to capture usage patterns even among BOP users who don’t own a phone. The surveys were conducted from September through October 2008. Initial findings can be downloaded below. An additional booster sample of over 1,500 migrant workers in the five countries was also surveyed. The Quantitative work has also been complemented by qualitative research in the six countries, to gain a deeper understanding of the quantitative patterns revealed. The qualitative research was conducted from February-March 2009. The full qualitative report can also be downloaded below.
This work was carried out by with the aid of a grant from the International Development Research Centre (Ottawa, Canada) and the Department for International Development of the UK (DFID), and funding by Telenor Research & Development Centre Sdn. Bhd.
Downloads | Please note: The data and findings of this study may not be used in legal proceedings
Teleuse@BOP3: India’s rural millions: Connected? Presentation made to the Cellular Operators Association of India, 10 February 2009, Mumbai
Teleuse@BOP: Sri Lankan findings Presentation made to Sri Lankan telcos, 4 March 2009, Colombo
Teleuse@BOP3: A qualitative study Report by CKS Consulting Pvt. Ltd., March 2009
Female use of public phones Teleuse@BOP3 findings in brief, May2009
Teleuse by the Bangladeshi migrant worker, Presentation made at the release of the migrant study findings, 26 June 2009, Dhaka
Teleuse@BOP3: A six-country study of Teleuse at the Bottom of the Pyramid, Bangladeshi findings released on 26 June 2009, Dhaka
Making the decision to adopt mobile Teleuse@BOP3 findings in brief, June 2009
Missed calls and other strategies Teleuse@BOP3 findings in brief, June 2009
Mobiles and transport Teleuse@BOP3 findings in brief, June 2009
Please note: The data and findings of this study may not be used in legal proceedings
Videos
As a part of Teleuse@BOP3, seven teleuser profiles were captured on film, exploring different aspects of the teleuse experience at the bottom of the pyramid (BOP), ranging from economic benefits, to entertainment, to sending remittances home. Click here to view videos.
Selected media coverage
Teleuse survey: What women want, Voice and Data, 1 August 2009
Only Indians make, receive missed calls: Study, The Times of India, 10 July 2009
(corrections published in TechGoss)
No computers in poor Bangladeshi households, New Age Bangladesh, 7 July 2009
Phones outnumber radios among South Asia’s poor, The Hindu, 5 July 2009
Public Telephone Booths — Means to Empower Women, The Khaleej Times, 29 June 2009
Calling home means a lot to Bangladeshi expat workers, The Financial Express (Bangladesh), 29 June 2009
Safe, comfy and chatting away – women’s empowerment at PCO booths, Yahoo! News India, 28 June 2009
Why Wireless Makes Sense, Interview with Fred Noronha (Indo-Asian News Service), Penang, Malaysia, 14 June 2009
The economics of chhota recharge, The Financial Express (India), 22 May 2009
VAS a disconnect with cell users, The Times of India, 21 March 2009
Usage Gap: Sri Lankan low income customers can use mobiles more for business: study, Lanka Business Online, 3 March 2009
Mobile penetration in hinterland goes up, The Hindu, 3 March 2009
Fairer sex patronizes public phones, but lags in pvt ownership, The Economic Times (India), 27 February 2009
Mobile users unwilling to change operator, The Hindu, 26 February 2009
Mobile value added services for rural areas need content, The Financial Express (India), 23 February 2009
Rural India key growth driver of telecom industry, Yahoo! News India, 12 February 2009
Rapid mobile growth among India’s poor, Expanding Horizons (Nokia), February 2009
A six-country study of Teleuse at the Bottom of the Pyramid: Bangladesh findings
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