“The mobile will be like Aladdin’s lamp. It can give you whatever you wish.. “ Nobel Laureate Muhammed Yunus

Not quite there yet, but...  Sense of security in an increasingly insecure world  Allows for coordination of everyday activities  Allows the making of money and saving of costs  Allows fragmented families to keep in touch  Management of contact information  Scheduler  Clock  Alarm  Entertainment center  Messaging device  Calculator  Camera  Method of participation  Payment device  Map and direction giver  Warning device for disaster risk reduction  Healthcare device  Agri-productivity enhancer...  Etc.....  “Mobile 2.0”

Public objective...  Example of e Sri Lanka, designed in Development and delivery of e gov services at core (to lay groundwork for e commerce, etc.)  Telecenters for public access Government call center also  Unsolved problem: e payments in a society with few credit cards  If designed today... Would switch focus  Government call center in foreground  Telecenters as niche, added-value product Mobile for e-payments

Access is surprisingly high at BOP  familiarity South AsiaSouth East Asia PakistanIndiaSri Lanka Philippine s Thailand Used phone in last 3 months 98%94%92%93%95%  Most people approached for survey (BOP and other) in mid had used a phone in the last 3 months “Half the world’s population has not made a phone call” was wrong when Kofi Annan said it in 1999; absolutely wrong now

Ownership is not as high at BOP  Especially in South Asia…

Primary access modes among BOP phone users Except in India, combined BOP household use > BOP public phone use

South Asia South-east Asia PakistanIndiaSri LankaPhilippinesThailand % of non-owners who plan to get connected between mid and mid %38%53%42%38% Mobile access is high … and growing

Public objectives: Do you agree with the GREATER ACCESS objective that I used?  Are there others that you want to place on the table: Increased rural rollout? Greater taxation revenues? National ownership? Job creation? Investment?....  Are there conflicts among objectives? Priorities?