Click on the links to see the full articles covering LIRNEasia’s book, ICT Infrastructure in Emerging Asia: Policy and Regulatory Roadblocks. ‘BSNL’s monopoly over infrastructure a hindrance to growth’ – Financial Express (India) Rural connectivity is now the focus of every telecommunication player in the country. Almost all stakeholders, from handset manufacturers to service providers, believe that the next wave of growth is in the rural areas.”However, India’s roll out (of telecom services) in rural areas has been slow. BSNL has the backbone infrastructure but is not yet ready to share it with private players,” he added.
Cell phones double as electronic wallets in RP By Oliver Teves Associated Press Last updated 10:42am (Mla time) 09/30/2007 Philippine Daily Inquirer SAN MIGUEL, Philippines–It’s Thursday, so 18-year-old Dennis Tiangco is off to a bank to collect his weekly allowance, zapped by his mother–who’s working in Hong Kong–to his electronic wallet: his cell phone. Sauntering into a branch of GM Bank in the town of San Miguel, Dennis fills out a form, sends a text message via his phone to a bank line dedicated to the service. In a matter of seconds, the transaction is approved and the teller gives him P2,500 (US$54), minus a 1-percent fee. He doesn’t need a bank account to retrieve the money. More than 5.
Smartphones are the PCs of the developing world – tech – 01 August 2007 – New Scientist Tech Being able to communicate in real time via speech and text using basic cellphones has already proved invaluable for communities that were never connected by landlines. Ajedi-ka, an organisation that works to promote human rights in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, distributes phones to local teachers, elders and business leaders so that they can report incidents of children being drafted as soldiers. The phones make reporting faster and easier. Meanwhile, health workers across the developing world have started using cellphones to monitor disease outbreaks in real time. In Kenya phones are being turned into mini-ATM machines via Vodafone’s M-PESA program, which allows users to load money onto their phones in shops and then send it via a text message to someone else, in their village say.
Dialog Telekom (Dialog) of Sri Lanka and the National Development Bank (NDB) of Sri Lanka will be launching a mobile payment (mCommerce) solution called “eZ Pay” this week. The solution is similar to a merchant accepting Visa or MasterCard credit/ debit cards for payments. If you know of anyone who maybe interested, please pass on and have them call the number listed (077 244 8888 or 011 244 8888) and an agent will visit you to demonstrate the solution and/or give more information. This is ideal for individuals who have not been able to obtain credit/ debit card acceptance machines at their outlets at present. For example, Grocery stores, Bakeries, Restaurants (Kade), Pharmacies, Medical centers, Tailors/ Clothing shops, Salons, Hardware stores, Taxi services, Home delivery, Stationery/ book shops, Accessory shops, Car wash/Service stations etc.
Reading the reports from Barcelona, one may think that remitting money using the functionalities of the mobile phone is something new. However, it appears that it is a functioning service in the Philippines, the SMS capital of the world.