GSMA Development Fund Top 20 Research Reports
The GSMA Development Fund, an initiative of the operator-led trade association representing the global mobile industry, has compiled and published a list of the best research reports on the economic and social impact of mobile communications in developing countries. Selection was based on content, relevance, originality and credibility. GSMA notes that although not an exhaustive and scientifically developed list, “it illustrates the work that we feel is most important at the moment and highlights key conclusions on the impact of mobile technology in developing countries.”
Click here to go to the highlighted list of research work.
Click here for the form to download the full report, GSMA Development Fund Top 20 (in .pdf).
Congratulations to Harsha de Silva, Ayesha Zainudeen, Dimuthu Ratnadiwakara, Nirmali Sivapragasam, and Tahani Iqbal for the mention of their research in additional reading appendix to the report:
de Silva, H., Zainudeen, A., Ratnadiwakara, D. 2008.
Perceived Economic Benefits of Telecom Access at the Bottom of the Pyramid in Emerging Asia
LIRNEasia, May 2008.
Takes a new look at the effect of mobile phones on the lives of people at the so-called ‘bottom of the pyramid.’ The report states that although anecdotal evidence shows that mobile phones are economically beneficial to base-of the-pyramid users, there is little empirical evidence to reinforce this claim. The authors conducted a study on mobile phone usage in five Asian countries and used the results to analyse the benefits — economic and otherwise — of mobiles on users at the bottom of the pyramid.
Link to More Information
Zainudeen, A., Sivapragasam, N., de Silva, H., Iqbal, T., Ratnadiwakara, D. 2007.
Teleuse at the Bottom of the Pyramid: Findings from a Five-Country Study
LIRNEasia, November 2007.
This paper looks at telecom use at the bottom of the pyramid, or BOP, in emerging Asia, where much of the ‘next billion subscribers’ are expected to come from. It explores the potential for new customers and issues of affordability at the BOP. The findings reveal potential for more than 140 million new connections at the BOP in Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, the Philippines and Thailand alone, with almost two thirds being mobile connections; this will have major implications for the uptake of emerging mobile applications. This paper also looks at the benefits, as perceived by current owners, of phone ownership at the BOP, as well as the ‘gendered’ use of telecom at the BOP, revealing a gender divide in India, Pakistan and to a small extent in Sri Lanka too. The policy implications of the findings are briefly examined.
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September 12th, 2008 at 11:02
[...] 10 laws of speculative musings, to 20 top research reports for development telecoms. Lirne Net picks up on a new list from the GSMA Development Fund. The GSMA Development Fund… has [...]