In our work, we refer to both the OECD and ITU definitions of broadband. They are quite different, indicating this is not settled science. Now the FCC has entered the fray, asking for comments on interpreting broadband. This is what one online commentator says: Nicely put, but defining and, even more, “interpreting” broadband may be a tough call. The FCC’s Notice certainly doesn’t make it easy.
What LIRNEasia tries to do with its teleuse@BOP research is to understand how and why people use ICTs at the bottom of the pyramid. We do this from the demand side. That has its advantages, but disadvantages too, such as cost, shortcomings in memory, etc. Therefore, we were thrilled to see someone else engaged in the same project, but from a different angle. Nathan Eagle, a research fellow at the Santa Fe Institute in New Mexico, believes that mobile phones offer more than a way to communicate.
SciDev, a prestigious science communication channel, has featured our cell broadcast report, the first of the Mobile 2.0 reports to be released. Texting short messages through mobile phones could help in early warning of natural disasters in the Maldives, says a new report. The technology, called cell broadcasting, helps to deliver messages simultaneously to multiple users in a specified area. “In the case of the Maldives, if an early warning is introduced, it must be able to reach all of the outlying islands including tourists on resorts.
Today (August 19, 2009) the telecoms watchdog of Bangladesh has invited responses on two public consultations. They are: QoS parameters and benchmarks for PSTN and broadband. And the deadline is August 24, 2009. That means you have only three working days to read, analyze and comment on the two documents. Interestingly both the documents are dated on August 3, 2009.
Sri Lanka hurriedly banned mobile phones at schools, not just for students but teachers as well, following a suicide of a Museaus girl, allegedly after an incident involving a mobile phone. Pity that they never reflected on the other side of the story. Mobile phone is a security device that enables critical communication between parents and children. Take it away and the results can be disastrous because that makes a child vulnerable. Take the story of Lasantha Gimhana Kanewela (10), for example.
The sixth edition of the “Telecenter Debates” published by Telecenter Magazine presents a debate on whether or not the PC is the best vehical for providing IT-related services to rural areas. Rohan Samarajiva presents an article against this assertion, using evidence from the Teleuse@BOP3 study, to state that “mobiles, not PCs, have the potential to be best vehicles for delivering services to rural areas in the Indo-Gangetic Plain, the world’s largest concentration of poor people”. Read the full article here. The PC is the best vehicle for providing IT-delivered services to rural areas
All that was wired (telephone) will henceforth be delivered wirelessly. All that came wirelessly (radio and TV) will henceforth be delivered through wires. That was the Negroponte Switch. No longer theory and speculation, it seems: The decline in landline use, which has been under way for several years, has picked up speed in recent months. In the first half of 2005 only 7.
Continuing our series of T@BOP3 user videos, below is a video interview with Sayar Singh in Rajastan, India: Business and social life have definately improved for Sayar Singh since he bought his mobile phone in mid-2008. Earlier, he was frustrated with a fixed phone that didn’t work half the time. This wheat and flower farmer in India’s Rajasthan state now tracks market prices and moves his produce quickly for better profits. With workload reduced and income doubled, Sayar has reaped dual benefits from his mobile. Click here to view other videos.
The presentation was made by Prof. Subhash Bhatnagar. The presentation began by Prof. Bhatnagar explaining the research objectives; extention of e-governmaent to mobile platforms as well as the strategic use of government services and applications which are only possible using cellular/mobile telephones, laptop computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs) and wireless internet infrastructure. Why are we thinking about m-government for BOP?
With 73.5% SIM card penetration in a market of 90 million people, The Philippines has been pioneering innovations and surprising the world. It was among the first countries to publicize SMS remittance and SMS credit transfer services. The Filipinos send 1.39 billion SMS everyday.
Voice and Data carries a detailed article on LIRNEasia’s teleuse research findings, including the use of telephony and remittance patterns among migrants in the study. The article highlight the gender difference in telecom ownership and use that still exists among the South Asian countries studied. The article goes on to argue that while “entertainment has a stronghold in telecom use”, a lack of interesting content and limited needs, reduces the chances of uptake and consumption among the BOP. Read the full article here. Unlike in Southeast Asian countries like Thailand and the Philippines, where female users have already taken a proactive lead, in South Asian countries like India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, clear gender differences still exist and this in turn impacts several elements of telecom usage like phone sharing, spatial elements of phone use, mobile adoption, ownership and perceptions around benefits.
Iraq has replaced Jordan as the Arab World’s most competitive cellular market, according to a new study. The Arab Advisors Group devised its Cellular Competition Intensity Index in order to rate and properly assess the intensity level of competition in the Arab World’s cellular markets. The Index revealed that Iraq tops the score -as the most competitive Arab market- with a 91.0% mark followed by Jordan (82.7%), Saudi Arabia (79.
There was a time when the bans were on graphic novels in schools. The Sri Lankan version of Manga was chitra kata. We read them, despite the prohibitions, and lived to tell the tale. Why don’t the telcos put chitra kata or Manga on mobiles and give the prohibitionists another reason to ban? Currently the reasons for banning mobiles in schools are weaker than those for banning school ties.
TVEAP (on behalf of LIRNEasia) videoed a series of interviews with teleusers to explore their usage patterns at the BOP. Below is an interview with eighteen-year-old Chamara Pahalawattage, a Sri Lankan school leaver, who does not have a steady job but that hasn’t dampened his enthusiasm for mobile phones he now uses his sixth phone in two years. This resident of Gonapola, western Sri Lanka, finds odd jobs at construction sites thanks to his phone. And after a hard day’s work, he unwinds listening to the radio, or swapping phone songs with friends. Click here to view other videos.
The eroding viability of Village Phone in Bangladesh was reported two years back. Grameen Telecom of Muhammad Yunus never looked beyond voice. And the micro-credit scheme using mobile phone succumbed to financial injuries from the wildfire of competition. Thanks to the exploding growth and coverage of mobile without regulatory intervention or USF injection in Bangladesh. Now D.
The Sunday Times (English) and Ravaya (Sinhala) carried the results of the migrant component of the teleuse research, making direct reference to the need to set the rules in place, a topic that was addressed in a previous issue of the Times by M. Aslam Hayat. “The challenge for mobile operators is to make a remittance service as simple as handing over the money and a slip, with hand-written transfer details, to a bank clerk,” said the study. On average, a Sri Lankan migrant sends home US $ 137 per month. The most common method of remittance is through the banking system.