Until recently, I believed, with Richard Heeks quoted below, that radio is found in more homes (at the BOP or all) than phones and TVs. Survey data from the BOP at three countries that account for the world’s greatest concentration of poor people (Pakistan, India and Bangladesh) tell a story that contradicts the common wisdom. In India, 58% of BOP households have TVs, while only 32% have radios. And some kind of phone in the household? 45%! In all six countries, TV is present in more BOP households than radios. And radio is less a player in TOP households, who have probably relegated it to the car.
5 Comments
Sanjana Hattotuwa
This is one of the most common arguments I hear in the developed world, militating against an urgent emphasis of mobile phones as a tool for peacebuilding and other processes, including development.
Thanks a ton for this research.
Sanjana Hattotuwa
Do you have high(er) resolution image of the bar graph?
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